


Gilt and Green

by queenofthenile91



Series: Gilt and Green: The Adventures of Loki and Sigyn [1]
Category: Avengers (Comics), Norse Religion & Lore, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Comics), Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Sigyn, F/M, Loki Does What He Wants, Loki Needs a Hug, Odin's A+ Parenting, Sigyn Does What She Wants, Thor is a puppy, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, nick fury is tired of this shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-09-19 01:20:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 52,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9411161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenofthenile91/pseuds/queenofthenile91
Summary: In which Loki’s marvelously self-indulgent display of egotism in Stuttgart is interrupted not just by the Avengers but also his long-suffering wife.This fic is not canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Universe Earth-616 or Norse mythology, but it will beg, borrow, steal and bastardize from all three from time to time. After all, if the Poetic Edda says the first Frost Giant was licked into existence by a primeval cow and there’s an alt-Marvel universe where Captain America fights Nazi zombies alongside Howard the Duck, I should be able to do what I want.





	1. Prologue: In Widows Weeds

  
_Memory, in widow's weeds, with naked feet stands on a tombstone. - Aubrey de Vere_

In the end, it had been decided that both Thor and Frigga will explain to her what had happened. Though absorbed in their own grief, both mother and son muster what bravery and solemnity they can as they knock on the door to the rooms that Loki and his wife had shared. When Sigyn answers, it was apparent by the sobering look on her face that she knows something is amiss. She has always been clever, and they knew it wouldn’t take long for her to figure things out on her own.

The last time she had seen her husband had been an hour before. Between his brother’s banishment, his father falling into the Odinsleep and being charged with the day-to-day operations of the Asgardian court, Sigyn hadn’t seen her husband much of late. He had arrived at their rooms just before supper to inform her that she was to stay inside them, lock the doors and not head out no matter what she heard. Sigyn’s first inclination was that the Frost Giants had returned to Asgard somehow, perhaps the same way they had sneaked in before. She had done as her husband had asked, right up until she heard the thunderous crash and was compelled onto the balcony of their suite, just in time to see the Bifrost Observatory and half the sea surrounding the Realm Eternal fall into nothingness. She has also seen Odin and Thor returning from the remnants of the bridge, but her husband was not with them. However, that didn’t surprise her much.

What did surprise her was the look of abject sorrow on both the face of Frigga and Thor as they faced her now. Deep down, she knew what was coming. She had been having nightmares for months of her husband falling into some sort of abyss. She usually took little stock in the belief that those, such as as herself, with Vanir heritage dreamt the future, but these dreams were so real and terrifying. Her husband had woken her from one on multiple occasions and had to soothe her back to sleep, promising that he would never leave her. But now, Sigyn could tell that oath had been broken.

“What has happened?” Sigyn demands to know. “Where is Loki? Where is my husband?”

“I… I am sorry, Sigyn…” Thor begins. “He… he fell…” 

Sigyn then lets out the most horrifying sound Thor has ever heard, even worse that the noise his mother had made when she had been informed of Loki’s death. Sigyn sounds like a cross between a wounded animal begging for death and how a person might sound if their flesh was slowly being ripped from their body. Frigga encircles the girl who she had partially raised and loves like a daughter, the both of them sinking to the ground in their grief. Errantly, Thor thinks it was a good idea that his father had not come; Odin’s solemnity and numbness in grief would not be appreciated by Sigyn just like his emotionlessness had not be appreciated by Loki.

After the two women have cried to the point Sigyn is barely taking in air, Thor and his mother help Sigyn to her bed. She curls around the pillow that had once been her husband’s and continues to be wracked with sobs. Frigga sits beside the girl on the edge of the bed, gently running her fingers through her hair and whispering to her - not words of consolation, because there are none to be offered - but calming, soothing words. Thor leaves the room after his mother orders him to fetch Sigyn’s sisters, that perhaps they would be able to help her in her grief. Thor didn’t think that the five of Sigyn’s sisters who live in Asgard have ever felt any particular fondness for Loki, but Sigyn is the youngest of their number and they have always doted upon her. 

Thor does not see his sister-in-law for three more days. After crying herself to sleep that first night, she locks everyone out of her rooms. Not even the servants who bring in food, change the sheets and perform the other menial tasks that keep the palace humming are allowed inside. It is on the third day that Loki’s helmet mysteriously washes up on the shore of Asgard. Thor and Odin were sure had it gone over with him, but it apparently made it back into the sea. A group of boys found it and, recognizing it instantly, had brought it to the palace. When the helmet is brought in, Thor doesn’t bother to consult his parents or anyone else before picking it up and striding forward to the rooms once shared by his brother and Sigyn, now occupied by Sigyn alone. 

While Sigyn had ignored Frigga, her sisters, Sif and anyone else who had tried to check in on her in the past three days, Thor’s knock and gentle tone informing her that something of Loki’s had been found is enough to get her out of bed and opening the door for the first time. As Thor presents it to her, Sigyn squints at the helmet, almost as if she couldn’t believe it is real. She had hated the strange gold creation. Thor had even helped her hide it on a few occasions in the hopes that Loki would forget about it and find something less ostentatious to wear. Loki had always managed to find it, however, and seemed to delight in the way his helm made his wife scrunch up her nose in annoyance and disgust. Things have changed, and any piece of her husband is now of the utmost importance to Sigyn. She grabs the helmet from Thor’s outstretched hands and cradles it to herself as one might do an infant. She then takes it back to the bed with, resting it gently on the pillow Loki’s head also once occupied, and curls up again in the various sheets and blankets of gilt and green. 

Sigyn does not emerge from her rooms for another week, though she at least allows the servants into clean and occasionally nibbles on what food they bring her. When she does leave, it is not by her own volition. The nobles are angry, and they want to know the extent of Loki’s schemes, how he was able to conceal Frost Giants into Asgard, and any other nefarious deeds he may have committed while Thor was banished and Odin incapacitated. Thor is furious when he finds out Odin has ordered Sigyn removed from her rooms and brought down to the dungeon, of all places, for questioning. Two of her sisters come to him as he was preparing his horse in the stable, their faces stained with tears and terrified that their sister would be punished in her husband’s stead.

The thought is that being amongst the prisoners and instruments of torture Asgard possesses would make the wife of the God of Lies more forthcoming. When Thor bursts into the room, Sigyn is insisting for the thousandth time that she knew nothing of her husband schemes. He had been too busy confide anything in her during that period, careful to conceal his machinations from her. She admits he ordered her to stay in their rooms before his attempted one-man assault on Jotunheim. She does not tell them he confessed his own Frost Giant heritage to her; she does not want to reveal that fact if it is not common knowledge.

No one believes that Sigyn is completely ignorant of her husband’s actions, save for maybe Thor and Frigga. Even they have their doubts. Odin allows Thor to escort Sigyn back to her rooms, despite the angry protests from the nobles that she is a liar and must have some information to give them. To placate them, Odin decides to put Sigyn under house arrest until such a time that she can be cleared of any of the charges against her. It isn’t really that much of a punishment for Sigyn. She does not care to leave her rooms and walk amongst the court of Asgard, the people who have long whispered about her and her husband behind their backs. The fact that they now whisper of treason and murder, that they dare celebrate his death like they would a successful hunt, does nothing to encourage her to rejoin them. 

Sigyn mourns until she can no longer feel pain, no longer feel anything. She is numb and listless, pacing her rooms like a shadow. Since her husband’s death, she has only worn black. The long, black veil she wears each day descends down nearly to the hems of her skirts and completes the illusion of her as some spirit from a dark netherworld as she saunters from place to place in her rooms, gazing at or gently touching things that belonged to her husband. When enough time has passed and Odin can safely end her imprisonment in her rooms, not much changes. 

At first, Sigyn makes no attempt to leave her personal prison. Then, she slowly emerges, but only at night and rarely is she seen. Sigyn becomes a ghost in the palace, haunting the places she and her husband once enjoyed together, silently reliving her memories of him. She acknowledges no one on these outings, and even the most seasoned of the palace guards admits to being a little unsettled when they come across her in the dimly lit halls after dark. She appears gaunt and haunted, her once bright eyes now dull and vacuous. Frigga quietly admits to Thor that she has forgotten what Sigyn’s laugh sounds like, what her smile looks like. Sigyn avoids her sisters, and they in turn decide it is futile to attempt to revive the once vibrant girl they knew. Sigyn’s servants leave her rooms each night, terrified they will find her dead by her own hand in the morning, only to breathe a sigh of relief when they arrive the next day to find their mistress despondent but very much alive.

Rumors soon began to swirl that Sigyn has gone mad, though some still wonder how she could love someone such as Loki, how she is not relieved to have him gone from her life. There is talk of perhaps sending her to her mother in Vanaheim or her father in Niðavellir, though no one is quite sure how to broach the subject with the woman in question. It is nearly a year after his death, and Sigyn shows no signs of improvement. Even the usually stoic Odin expresses privately to his wife that he is concerned Sigyn might never return to any semblance of normal. A decision is made to invite Sigyn’s parents and her siblings to Asgard for some sort of meeting to see if their combined forces can jar her out of her depression. Thor learns later that this is referred to as an “intervention” on Midgard. The plans are set, but three days before the meeting takes place something strange occurs.

Sigyn has gone missing from her rooms and along with her the golden helmet of her husband’s she had learned to treasure in his absence. When Heimdall rushes in hours later to tell Odin that Loki has revealed himself in Midgard, Thor knows instantly where Sigyn has gone.


	2. Chapter 1: Something Wicked This Way Comes

_A woman knows the face of the man she loves as a sailor knows the open sea. - Honore de Balzac_

When Steve Rogers agreed to resume his role as Captain America for SHIELD, the last place he expected to be sent on his first mission was Germany. The place had definitely changed since he had last been there in 1945, but then the whole world had. He was also a little skeptical of this guy SHIELD was calling Loki. They claimed that he was some sort of god-like creature, an otherworldly being. Steve was pretty sure these guys just didn’t know their history very well. Despite the fact that everyone assured him the war was over and the Nazis were defeated, Steve felt this sort of thing had Red Skull written all over it.

The elite Nazis like Himmler, Schmidt, Zola, and the famed _Schutzstaffel_ had a kinship with the ancient Germanic and Norse gods. He and the other Commandos had been given a few lectures on the symbolism, how it tied into the Nazi belief and how many of the higher level officers believed there was a direct connection that truly made them the sons of gods. The so-called magical technology this guy called Loki seemed to possess looked like a Hydra type weapon, and Steve thought that maybe he was the son or grandson of some former Hydra agent looking to rekindle something from the past. After all, who else would choose a place like Stuttgart to make an international scene?

“Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state?” Loki asked of the crowd mockingly. “It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.”

Yep, Steve thought to himself, probably a Nazi.

“Not to men like you,” an elder gentleman said, rising from the crowd. Steve smirked in spite of himself. 

“There are no men like me,” Loki taunted.

“There are always men like you,” the man replied. Steve took a deep breath. It was time.

“Look to your elder people,” Loki said, wielding his staff in the man’s direction. “Let him be an example.” 

Steve plummeted and felt the strike from Loki’s staff hit his shield just as he hit the ground. Loki was knocked backwards, but the crowd remained stunned. 

“You know,” Steve said, approaching Loki, “the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing.” Loki stood up, a smirk on his face.

“The soldier,” Loki grinned. “A man out of time.” Steve tried not to let it bother him that Loki seemed to know things about him. 

“I'm not the one who's out of time,” Steve replied as the quinjet came into view, it’s machine turret pointing towards Loki. 

“Loki, drop the weapon and stand down,” Natasha’s voice echoed out of the quinjet.

Instead of listening, Loki sent a blast of blue energy toward the quinjet. The crowd began to disperse in terror, which Steve was actually pretty thankful for. Steve headed forth toward the Asgardian, but the so-called god was able to fling him to the ground. He threw his shield only for Loki to deflect it. Steve had to admit he was feeling more than a little rusty, but this guy also seemed to have a super soldier’s strength. He attempted to fight the guy off, but soon found himself beneath Loki, the scepter pointed toward his helmet.

“Kneel,” Loki demanded.

“Not today,” Steve shouted back at him. He managed to flip, knock out Loki’s leg, flip him and then grabbed him, flipping him over. 

A strange electric sound pierced the air and both Steve and Loki looked upward to see what was happening. It seemed to be coming from the quinjet, but there was also a red form that was coming closer and closer. Steve was able to deduce it was some of that “rock and roll” music that had become popular after his time spent frozen. The figure came closer into view and Steve could identify from the files he had reviewed that this must be Iron Man - or more accurately, Tony Stark. Steve hadn’t been too awful surprised that Howard had settled down and had a kid. However, the resemblance between Tony and his father had thrown him briefly. Iron Man readied to blast Loki back into the ground but at the last minute, an invisible force seemed to deflect his blasters. Tony was shocked, Steve was shocked, but no one seemed more shocked than Loki. As the Iron Man suit hit the ground, all three men turned toward the direction from which the deflection had come. 

It was a woman, her hand outstretched and her face tense. She had on a gold helmet of her own that Tony felt was only slightly less ridiculous than Loki’s while Steve just thought it was impractical for use in battle. Her dress of green and gold looked like something out of a Renaissance faire or a costume from Spam-A-Lot. Long blonde hair curled out from her helmet and tumbled down her shoulders to her mid-back. Her eyes were as blue as the sea and she had an otherworldly beauty about her. Both Tony and Steve were about 95 percent sure she was Asgardian, though she was incredibly short. Most of the other Asgardians who had come to earth had been around six foot tall while this woman seemed to barely top five feet.  
The woman seemed to cast a look of displeasure at both Tony and Steve for attacking Loki, but her piercing stare quickly fixed Loki, seeming to nail him in place. For his part, Loki looked absolutely terrified. At first, Steve thought he was afraid of the woman before them but then he recognized the look in Loki’s eyes. The crazed god wasn’t afraid of the woman’s power; he was terrified that she was in danger. 

“Who is she?” Natasha demanded over the comms.

“I was going to ask you,” Steve replied. 

“Am I not worthy of a greeting?” the woman asked. Both Steve and Tony opened their mouths to respond, but quickly realized the woman was not addressing them. Loki shifted awkwardly, trying to avoid making eye contact with her. “You throw yourself off the Bifrost Bridge, leaving your family to believe you dead and then, after nearly a year in mourning, you turn up on Midgard without so much as a hello.” Loki said nothing, which seemed to further incense the woman. “Well?”

“I would say it is good to see you here,” Loki replied. “Except it’s not.”

“Oh, yes,” the woman hissed at him, causing even Natasha to flinch a little as she heard the voice over the comm. “I can imagine how terribly inconvenienced you feel. It must be terrible to have your little temper tantrum spoilt in such a way.”

“What are you doing here?” Loki demanded.

“I would ask the same question,” she replied. “Though I have some idea. You come to Midgard to punish Odin, do you not?” Loki shifted his feet but made no denial. “It is sad, is it not, that I once thought your love for me was far greater than your hatred of him. I see now that perhaps I have been blinded. After all, had you truly any care you wouldn’t have kept me in the dark all this time, left me to mourn a man I thought I was dead while you hid out like a coward, plotting and planning.”

“Truly, a year in mourning?” Loki scoffed. “I find that hard to believe. If you truly missed me so, why did it take this long to find me?”

“As if you wanted to be found before now,” she said back.

“Look, lady, as interesting as this all is,” Tony said to the mysterious woman. “This guy is wanted for some pretty serious crimes against humanity, so we’re going to be taking him…”

“Not until I am finished!” the woman said furiously. She waved her hand and with a flick of her wrist, Tony Stark found himself unable to make any noise come out of his throat. The woman then turned back to Loki. “I looked for you. I scryed for you every day. You think I didn’t mourn? Death would have been easier than what you put me through! The only reason I did not plunge a dagger through my own breast was the sheer hope that perhaps somewhere you would be found. And how do you repay my loyalty and devotion? By going on a killing spree on Midgard?”

“Fury says we may have to subdue her as well,” Natasha said to Steve and Tony over the comm. Before either could begin to do anything, however, the woman lifted her hands again.

From her shot a strange silver chain that appeared to have glowing runes on it. In an instant, the chain surged forward past both Iron Man and Captain America, wrapping around Loki and knocking him to the ground. Fight as he might, he could not break them and with a sigh, he seemed to lean back, as if resigned to his fate. 

“Ma’am,” Steve said to the woman, “as much as we appreciate your help with the...uh, capture… We are going to have to take him into custody.”

“Fine,” she agreed, “but I will be coming with you.” She waved her hand again and Tony found himself finally able to speak.

“And, uh, who are you, exactly?” Tony asked.

“Sigyn Iwaldadottir, though some refer to me as Sigyn Freyadottir. I am also known as Sigyn of Vanaheim, Sigyn of Niðavellir, Goddess of Fidelity, Fetterer of Magic, Bringer of Victory, Lady of the North Star,” Sigyn introduced herself before looking over at her husband. “And wife of Loki, Prince of Asgard.” Loki glared back at her, though it was hard to tell if he was angry for Sigyn thwarting his attempt at world domination or if because she was on Midgard.

“That’s a rather… long set of titles,” Steve mentioned.

“Those were just a few,” Sigyn shrugged. “If I listed them all, I believe we would be here for a long time.”

“Alright, let’s get this prize pony to the chopper,” Tony sighed.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cabin of the plane was strangely silent for the first few minutes after both Loki and Sigyn had been brought aboard. Still wrapped in his chains and shooting daggers at everyone, Loki hadn’t bothered to volunteer any information about Barton, Selvig or the SHIELD agents he had taken captive. Sigyn, for her part, kept a cool expression, seeming to take in her surroundings with indifference. The one odd thing she did seem to be doing was petting a piece of jewelry on her arm. The gold bangle looked like a snake wrapped around her wrist several times, ruby eyes shining from its lifelike face. Sigyn seemed to pet it as if it were a real snake, though it was probably just a nervous habit. Steve, Tony and Natasha were all slightly concerned that Sigyn was part of Loki’s scheme, that this interruption had been planned. Lighting began to flash across the sky as Fury came in over the comm.

“Said anything?” Fury asked Natasha.

“Not a word,” she replied.

“How about the girl?” Fury asked.

“Says she’s his wife,” Natasha replied. Fury was quiet for a beat.

“Just get them here,” he replied. “We’re low on time.”

Both Steve and Tony noticed that Loki seemed to be watching Sigyn while Sigyn herself seemed much more interested in the various instruments guiding the airplane. Sitting in their own seats, the pair hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary between the two. They looked like any normal couple experiencing an awkward silence after a fight.

“I don’t like it,” Steve said.

“What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?” Tony asked.

“I don’t remember it being ever that easy,” Steve shrugged. “This guy packs a wallop.”

“Still, you are pretty spry for an older fellow,” Tony shrugged. “What’s your thing? Pilates?”

“What?” Steve asked, baffled.

“It’s like calisthenics,” Tony replied. “You might have missed a couple things, you know, during your time as a Capsicle.”

“Fury didn’t tell me he was calling you in,” Steve said, changing the subject.

“Yeah, well there’s a lot of things Fury doesn’t tell you,” Tony snorted.

A bolt of lightning nearly hitting the plane distracted them both momentarily. Loki looked a little shaken up by the rumbling, though Sigyn looked exasperated.

‘Where’s this coming from?” Natasha muttered as Loki began staring out the window.

“What’s the matter?” Steve taunted Loki. “Scared of a little lightning?”

“I’m not overly fond of what follows,” Loki admitted.

“I would say that is your own fault,” Sigyn huffed. 

Tony and Steve exchanged a look, wondering if this was some sort of Asgardian idiom or proverb they didn’t understand. Suddenly, a blinding light surrounded the jet. The ramp opened up as if on its own accord and a massive blond many with a giant hammer entered in. He marched forward and grabbed Loki by the collar. He seemed ready to depart with Loki in tow the same way he had come only for the ramp to close on itself. The man whipped around, bringing Loki with him, to find the woman standing firm with her hand outstretched, having just used her magic to seal up the door.

“Sigyn,” Thor nodded. “Heimdall said you would be here.”

“What business have you with my husband?” Sigyn demanded.

“Am I am to return him to Asgard,” Thor replied. 

“Look, buddy, we kind of have dibs on…” Tony began, but Sigyn interrupted him.

“I am sorry, Thor,” Sigyn said to Thor calmly, “but there are things that must be settled on Midgard before he can be returned.”

"I am under strict orders to return him immediately” Thor insisted. “We must know the location of the Tesseract.”

“Actually, we need to know the location of the Tesseract,” Tony interrupted, “and we need him for that.”

“Stay out of this, Metal Man,” Thor sneered. 

“I see no one cares what I want,” Loki snorted.

“Do I look to be in a gaming mood, brother?” Thor shouted at him.

“Oh, you should thank me,” Loki smirked. “With the Bifrost gone how much dark energy did the Allfather have to muster to conjure you here? Your precious Earth.”

“We thought you dead,” Thor replied gruffly.

“Sigyn indicated as much,” Loki rolled his eyes.

“Had you seen her pain you would not mock her, brother,” Thor hissed. “We all mourned. Our father…”

“Your father!” Loki shouted back. “He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?”

“We were raised together, we played together, we fought together,” Thor replied. “Do you remember none of that?”

“I remember a shadow,” Loki said, unable to look Thor in the eye. “Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I who was and should be king!”

“So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights,” Thor snorted. “No, the Earth is under my protection, Loki.”

“And you’re doing a marvelous job with that,” Loki laughed bitterly. “The humans slaughter each other in droves, while you idly threat. I mean to rule them. And why should I not?” 

“You think yourself above them,” Thor observed.

“Well,” Loki shrugged. “yes.”

“Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother,” Thor shook his head. “The throne would suit you ill.” Loki attempted to fight against his brother, but he could not take on his brother’s strength and the chains binding him at the same time.

“I’ve seen worlds you’ve never known about!” Loki hissed in a voice that neither Thor nor Sigyn felt sounded much like Loki. “I have grown, Odinson, in my exile! I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it…”

“Who showed you this power?” Sigyn interrupted nervously. “Who controls you?”

“I am a king!” Loki shouted.

“Not here,” Thor shook his head. “You give up the Tesseract. Give up this poisonous dream and come home!”

“I don’t have it,” Loki laughed maniacally. “You need the cube to bring me home, but I’ve sent it off I know not where…”

“So, as interesting as this family soap opera is,” Tony interjected. “We really need to get Reindeer Games here back to SHIELD.” Thor’s ears seemed to prick up at the mention of SHIELD.

“I believe there is more to what is happening here than even the Allfather expects,” Sigyn informed Thor. “I think it would be best if we cooperated with the Midgardians.” For his part, Thor shoved Loki back down into a chair. 

“Then I shall accompany you,” Thor announced, taking the seat next to his brother. 

Loki muttered under his breath. This plane ride could not end quickly enough.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon arriving at the helicarrier, Sigyn removed the chains she had used to bind Loki once the SHIELD operatives had placed their own handcuffs on him. Tony thought that Sigyn’s chains might be better, but it wasn’t exactly his decision. SHIELD apparently had protocols. While Loki was escorted to a cell, Sigyn was brought into the briefing room alongside Thor. Fury had initially wanted to place Sigyn in an interrogation room to see what she new about her husband’s activities and to suss out if she was part of his plots. However, Thor had seemed protective of his sister-in-law, and no one wanted to go up against the guy with the hammer. Instead, both had been taken into the briefing room with the rest of the Avengers. Steve, Natasha and Bruce Banner all watched from the briefing room as Nick Fury talked to Loki about his new cell. Thor faced away from the screen but still listened. Sigyn seemed to curl in upon herself, still fiddling with the snake bracelet on her left hand. She had removed her helmet and stored it along with Thor’s in the SHIELD locker room. Without it, she looked less the intimidating sorceress and more like a scared little girl. As her husband taunted Fury, Steve was sure he caught her wiping a few tears from her eyes. Once the monitor went black, Sigyn seemed to be bracing for something as the room went silent.

“He really grows on you, doesn’t he?” Banner said nervously to break the ice.

“Loki’s going to drag this out,” Steve said. He turned to Sigyn and Thor. “What’s his play?”

“He says he has an army behind him, though of what I do not know,” Thor replied. “They’re not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.”

“An army?” Steve asked incredulously. “From outer space?” 

“So, he’s building another portal,” Banner nodded as if this all made perfect sense. “That’s what he needs Erik Selvig for.”

“Selvig?” Thor asked, surprised.

“He’s an astrophysicist,” Banner explained.

“He’s a friend,” Thor said. 

“Loki has him under some kind of spell,” Natasha said. “along with one of ours.”

“I wanna know why Loki let us take him,” Steve said. “He’s not leading an army from here.”

“What do you think, princess?” Tony asked Sigyn. “He surrendered much easier when you showed up.”

“He didn’t want me here,” Sigyn said, as if she couldn’t comprehend it. “He seemed… afraid of having me here…”

“Didn’t want you to see him get his ass kicked?” Tony snorted. Sigyn looked up and pierced him with a glare.

“He seemed fearful that something would happen…” Sigyn said. “I know my husband, and I know that look on his face. He was afraid I was in danger.”

“Well, you are married to a guy that’s trying to take over the world,” Tony shrugged. 

“This is not the man I married,” Sigyn shook her head, continuing to fiddle with her bracelet absentmindedly.

“I don’t think we should be focusing on Loki,” Banner interjected. “That guy’s brain is a bag full of cats you can smell the crazy on him…” Banner suddenly looked contrite when he saw the tears forming in Sigyn’s eyes.

“Have care how you speak!” Thor said threateningly. “Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard and he’s my brother.”

“He killed eighty people in two days,” Natasha pointed out.

“He’s adopted,” Thor said embarrassedly. 

“And yet you wonder where his anger stems from,” Sigyn muttered.

“Iridium,” Banner said, thinking aloud, “what do you need iridum for?” 

“It’s a stabilizing agent,” Tony said, entering the room with Phil Coulson. “Means the portal won’t collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD. Also, it means the portal can open as wide and will stay open as long as Loki wants.” Tony paused. “That man is playing Galaga. thought we wouldn’t notice, but we did.” He then covered his eye and began looking around. “How does Fury do this?”

“He turns,” Maria Hill informed him. The rest of the group had momentarily forgotten Fury’s second-in-command was even there. Tony continued to turn around, sticking a small hacking implant under the desk without anyone noticing. 

“Well, that sounds exhausting,” Tony snorted. “The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still heeds is a power source. A high energy density something to kick start the cube.”

“When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?” Hill asked.

“Last night,” Tony smirked. He looked around at the rest of the puzzled group. “The packet. Selvig’s notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?”

“Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?” Steve asked. 

“He’s got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier,” Banner said. 

“Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect,” Tony replied.

“Well, if he could do that they he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet,” Banner said.

“Finally!” Tony smiled, “someone who speaks English.”

“Is that what just happened?” Steve asked as Banner and Stark shook hands.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner,” Tony said. “Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.”

“Thanks,” Banner said, looking down. 

“Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube,” Fury said, walking into the room. “I was hoping you might join him.”

“Let’s start with that stick of his,” Steve suggested. “It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon.”

“I don’t know about that,” Fury said, “but it is powered by the cube. And I’d like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.”

“Monkeys?” Thor asked confused. “I do not understand…”

“I do!” Steve said excitedly, talking over Thor. “I understood that reference!” Tony rolled his eyes. 

“Shall we play, doctor?” Tony asked, redirecting his attention to Banner.

“Let’s play some,” Banner smiled. The two men exited the room when Fury turned to Sigyn and Thor.

“What can you tell us?” Fury demanded.

“He did not have that scepter when he was last on Asgard,” Thor said. “He has been missing for nearly a year, since he fell from the Bifrost to an abyss.”

“But he only made himself known on Earth days ago,” Fury pointed out.

“I do not believe he was on Midgard until days ago,” Sigyn shook her head. “This power he has wielded… it is not of any known place.”

“How do you know that?” Fury demanded to know.

“I have studied the arcana since I was a girl,” Sigyn said, raising her chin.

“So, you’re his wife?” Fury said, eyeing Sigyn up and down.

“Yes,” she replied. 

“Don’t think you could talk some sense into him?” Fury asked. “Maybe get him to let us know what he’s up to?”

“I do not know if he can be reasoned with in this current state,” Sigyn admitted, “but I will do what I can to help. There is something strange about my husband…”

“You mean to tell me he’s not normally a homicidal maniac?” Fury snorted. “I think there’s a small town in New Mexico that might differ.”

“Do you want my help or not?” Sigyn asked him curtly. Fury looked at her for a moment. 

“Coulson, escort the lady to her husband’s cell,” Fury ordered. 

“I shall come,” Thor said, starting toward the door. Before Fury could say anything, Sigyn interrupted.

“No,” she said determinedly. “I think your presence will only serve to make him more agitated. Let me go alone.”

“Ma’am, I don’t know if that’s wise,” Coulson said.

“Well, I won’t be truly alone,” Sigyn smiled at both him and Fury sweetly. “You have your ways of seeing things, don’t you?” Fury nodded and Coulson escorted her from the room.

“This is going to be interesting,” Natasha said.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loki was pacing his cell like a predator stalking his prey when Sigyn arrived. Fury had agreed to give the pair at least the illusion of privacy, meaning Coulson would be waiting just outside the door in case something happened. While Thor insisted that Loki wouldn’t harm his wife, the others weren’t so sure. While he wasn’t exactly confident Sigyn could drag the location of the Tesseract or even a motive from Loki, Fury did think watching the interaction between the pair would be a good indication of how much Sigyn knew about her husband’s plans and how involved she was with them. While Loki had seemed startled by Sigyn’s arrival in Asgard, he seemed more prepared and even pleased to see her now, standing before his cell. His eyes looked to her wrist briefly to see her snake bracelet and then back into her eyes.

“I wondered if they would let you see me,” Loki smirked. Sigyn eyed him carefully. There was something off about him and she intended to find out what. “Why did the let you come, hmm? Do they expect you to utilize your wifely wiles to convince me to divulge of my plans? Or do they want to see how much of an accomplice you are?”

“I am not here for them. I am here for my own edification,” Sigyn replied. “And I am here for you.”

“Tell me, my dear,” Loki asked, “with the Bifrost broken, how did you manage to come here? And without the aid of the Allfather to bring you?”

“I held onto hope that you could one day be found,” Sigyn said. “So, when it was brought to me, I enchanted your helm. I knew you would eventually want it, and when you sent for it, I would arrive as well. It is amazing the power of location charms, particularly those that are very old and found only in the dusty tomes in the palace library. Though they are quite draining. I should hope you never make me use one again.”

“Oh, my sweet clever dove,” Loki smirked. “You have truly grown into a force to be reckoned with.”

“I did not have much of a choice after you abandoned me in Asgard,” Sigyn replied coolly.

“Are you still on about that?” Loki rolled his eyes.

“If I had left you to believe I was dead only to appear on Midgard a year later, you would be even less forgiving,” Sigyn snorted. “There must be some reason that you could not take even a second of your time to let me know you were alive.”

“I had plans to plot, my love,” Loki smiled. “Worlds to conquer.”

“Yes, those seem to be going well,” Sigyn scoffed. 

“You saw the way I ruled Asgard in Odin’s stead,” Loki replied. “Had that oaf not returned…”

“You in your own arrogance gave him the means to do so,” Sigyn said. “You are so entrenched in your own bitterness you care not what it costs you. Who it costs you.”

“Ah, but though this realm is inferior to Asgard, it does have its advantages,” Loki continued on, as if he had not heard her. “I am sure you saw how these mortals tremble in fear at the sight of me. They are so easy to sway. They will be easy to rule, and I was born to be a king.”

“This is not what you were born to do,” Sigyn argued.

“You mock me?” Loki hissed.

“I seek to save you from yourself,” Sigyn replied. 

“Don’t you see Sigyn!” Loki fumed. “I would rule these people! I would be a god among men. I would be their king! And you, my sweet Sigyn, would always be beside me. I seek to make you a queen and this is the thanks you give me!”

“Oh, Loki,” Sigyn sighed, “you know the only thing I have ever wanted to be queen of is your heart.”

“You deserve more than the shame and ridicule they have heaped upon you in Asgard,” Loki informed her. Sigyn stepped closer toward her husband, studying his face. She seemed to find something there, but not something she was particularly happy to see. 

“We do not always get what we deserve, husband,” Sigyn replied.

“You must not ally yourself with these people, wife,” Loki said to her. “They will betray you. They will harm you. They will do whatever is necessary to get to me.”

“I am doing what I think is best for us both,” Sigyn informed him. “I have loved you since we were children, and my own devotion sometimes frightens me. I fear what lengths I might go to save you. I fear you are testing them now.”

“They should know that if you come to harm there will be no place my rage cannot find them,” Loki said.

“I think there is a clear choice before you, husband,” Sigyn said. “A test if you will.”

“Of what?” Loki asked.

“I have proven my loyalty to you again and again,” Sigyn said. “Perhaps it is finally time I ask the same.”

“I do not know if this is a game you want to play,” Loki informed her.

“Perhaps not,” Sigyn admitted, “but I believe it is unavoidable at this point. If you love me, truly love me, there is still a way that we can return to Asgard and live as we did before… before your greed and ambition sought to destroy everything we have built together. You must tell them the location of Selvig and this Tesseract. I am not as gullible as your brother, and I know you know what has been done with them. You may have your plans to destroy Midgard or you may have me as your wife, but you cannot have both. If you decide to continue to act on these plans of yours, I give my full permission for SHIELD to take me into custody as their prisoner.”

“You would bargain yourself for the safety of this pitiable realm?” Loki snorted. “And what would stop me from conquering these fools and then returning you to your rightful place at my side?”

“Since when have I ever done anything you attempted to force me into?” Sigyn pointed out.

“Do not underestimate the powers I have come to acquire, wife,” Loki said.

“And do not underestimate what I have learned in your absence,” Sigyn replied.

“I could strike you down if I so chose,” Loki informed her.

“Then what is stopping you?” Sigyn asked. Loki looked her up and down and then his eyes seemed to unfog somewhat.

“You should not be here, Sigyn,” he said more quietly than before. “It is not safe.”

“What is it, husband?” Sigyn asked.

“I cannot say,” he replied. His eyes darkened again. “Go… go back to your masters. I am sure they are eager to hear what your judgment of me is.”

“This is not over, husband,” Sigyn glowered. She spun on her heel and headed out of the room. As she exited it, Coulson came up to her side, ready to take her back to Fury. He noticed she was even more tense than before she had entered the room.

“Is everything alright, ma’am?” Coulson asked. Sigyn looked at him worriedly.

“His eyes,” Sigyn said, beginning to play with her bracelet again. 

“Yes?” Coulson asked.

“His eyes are blue,” Sigyn said.

“I am not aware…” Coulson began.

“My husband’s eyes are green,” Sigyn replied.

“Ma’am?” Coulson asked.

“There is something deeper happening here,” Sigyn said.

“I’ll tell Director Fury,” Coulson assured her. Sigyn offered a weak smile at the man, but inside she only felt cold.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With Sigyn ensconced in the private room SHIELD had found for her on the helicarrier, Steve and Thor had brought the recording of Sigyn and Loki’s conversation into the lab in the hopes that Banner and Stark might be able to make some sense of it or glean something the others hadn’t. Thor watched the tape even more stoically than he had watched the initial occurrence over the video screens. Something was troubling him, but he hadn’t shared what.

“Something is bothering her,” Bruce said. “It’s like she can sense that something is off kilter.”

“This is not normally how my brother speaks to his wife,” Thor admitted. 

“Let me guess,” Tony smirked. “He’s all flowers and love poetry?”

“My brother orbits his wife like she is a planet and he is its moon,” Thor said. “Yes, they fight and they do know how to hurt each other deeply with their words, but he would never threaten to harm her. Never. It is not in his nature.”

“Didn’t he try to kill you?” Stark pointed out.

“Loki would sooner kill himself than harm a hair on Sigyn’s head,” Thor insisted. “Of that I have no doubt.”

‘“So, how did your brother end up married to a woman like that?” Tony asked as the recording turned off. Thor sighed.

“It is a long story.”

“Believe me, I’m all ears,” Tony said. 

“Well, to hear Sigyn tell it,” Thor said. “Loki saved her life.”

“That guy?” Tony said in disbelief.

“How?” Steve asked. “How did he save her life?”

“Sigyn was supposed to marry another,” Thor explained. “Theoric...he… wasn’t a very good man.”

“So, it was an arranged marriage?” Bruce asked. 

“Yes,” Thor sighed. “Sigyn’s family history is complicated… suffice to say, her stepfather Odr arranged for her to marry Theoric, an old companion of his from the Aesir-Vanir Wars, to get back at Freyja, Sigyn’s mother, for her affairs.”

“Affairs?” Tony asked.

“Freyja’s father, the king of Vanaheim, arranged for her and Odr to marry, but she never really loved him,” Thor said. “However, she does love jewelry. Iwaldi, Sigyn’s father, is a master craftsman among the dwarves. Freyja used her wiles to seduce him, and he in turn made her love gifts of various jewelry. Sigyn and her sisters are the results of those couplings. Odr, to say the least, was not pleased. The fact that his wife had cuckolded him was one thing, but the fact she had done so with a dwarf… Prejudices still sometimes run deep between the realms. This revelation was only more salt in the wound between them.”

“Dwarf daddy. That explains why she’s so short,” Tony snorted. Thor glared at him.

“So he married off her daughter to a guy his own age?” Bruce asked. “To punish his wife?”

“Older than him, actually,” Thor said. “But Theoric was… a bit worse than that. He was known to get intoxicated frequently, avail himself to women who were not desirable of his affections… He was married more than once before Sigyn. Both of his previous wives died under… strange circumstances. Nothing could be proven, but it was easy to see the deaths were not of natural causes. Had they medical attention, Asgard’s healing knowledge most likely would have saved them…but things are not always so in Vanaheim. Theoric’s servants often sported bruises… But no one said anything. Theoric was a war hero, and Odr always backed up his friend. Odr has quite a bit of power in Vanaheim.”’

“I’m guessing Loki put stop to this marriage somehow,” Steve prompted.

“Yes,” Thor nodded. “He had been desperately in love with Sigyn for some time. She and most of her sisters had grown up with us in Asgard… as pupils of our mother… He came to me and the Warriors Three and asked for our aid. While we were not always keen on Loki’s mischief, we all knew that Sigyn did not deserve to be punished for her mother in this way. Three days before the wedding was to take place, the four of us took Theoric out on a hunt to celebrate the end of his bachelorhood. Loki had somehow found a chain that no being could break. It is the same chain I believe Sigyn bound him with earlier. The four of us tied Theoric to a tree with it while Loki remained behind to give himself an alibi.”

“Where would Loki get something like that?” Steve asked, a little alarmed.

“I don’t believe Iwaldi was pleased with Sigyn’s arranged marriage, and though Loki has never admitted such, I wouldn’t be surprised if Iwaldi helped him in his quest to rid Sigyn of Theoric,” Thor said. 

“Big guy’s tied to a tree with the unbreakable chain,” Tony summed up. “What happened next?”

“You have seen my brother’s magic. He can change shape and take on the face of another,” Thor explained. “For the next three days he masqueraded as Theoric. Of course, a lot of people sensed something was off. Theoric was much better behaved, didn’t start any fights and he was actually paying court to Sigyn instead of bragging to anyone in the mead hall that would listen about how he was going to bed one of Freyja’s daughters. I am sure at that point Sigyn knew something had happened, though many just felt that I and the Warriors Three had just given Theoric a stern talking to about his behavior.”

“I’m still finding it hard to believe that Severus Snape in there could pull off doting fiance,” Tony snorted. “So, how’d he do the big reveal?”

“He waited until the vows were said and the ceremony was over,” Thor shrugged. “There were various reactions, of course. Odr was outraged that Loki was there instead of Theoric. Freyja was furious that Loki would turn her daughter’s wedding day into another one of his pranks. Our mother thought it was hilarious. Our father was ready to strangle him, certain this would ignite another war with the Vanir.”

“Why not just annul the whole thing? Or get a divorce?” Tony shrugged. “It’s not like it’s hard.”

“Divorce?” Thor asked, curiously. “I’m not sure what you mean… divorce a marriage…”

“You know, a legal separation? Like you sign a legal document and you aren’t married anymore?” Bruce explained. 

“We… we do not have such things on Asgard,” Thor shook his head. “Once the wedding vows have been said, those who have said them are together until separated by death. Even the Allfather cannot end a marriage with all his power. No, even though Loki had said them in Theoric’s form, it was he who said the vow and therefore he and Sigyn could not be parted.”

“What has been joined together let no man tear asunder,” Steve said quietly.

“Yes,” Thor nodded. “It was Sigyn who convinced them not to be angry. Her grandfather, Njörðr, had been looking for a way to unite his family with ours since the Vanir lost the war. He saw it as a great opportunity, and his word was ultimately law. Iwaldi was in support of the union as well, though I’m not sure if that was because Sigyn wanted it or if he just wanted to annoy Odr. Of course, Freyja and Odr are both still displeased with the entire thing.”

“In-laws, am I right?” Tony smirked. He looked around and then briefly remembered no one in the room was married. 

“Just like that, they were married? Forever?” Bruce asked. 

“And have been ever since,” Thor shrugged.

“Well, they might need some counseling after this,” Tony shrugged. He turned to Banner. “Got anything interesting on the cube yet?”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alone in his cell, Loki tried to avoid closing his eyes. Every time he tried to rest just for a second, the visions of carnage returned. Sigyn’s presence on Midgard had added a terrifying, unexpected wrinkle to his plans. This was more than the proverbial wrench in the gears; this was if Mjolnir itself had been used to bash up the entire machine. Had she remained on Asgard at least some semblance of her safety could have been guaranteed. Likewise, he could have protected her if he had retrieved her once his plans for Midgard were complete. But now, with so many juggling balls in the air, Sigyn’s presence had driven the stakes even higher. His eyes closing momentarily, Loki recalled the discussion he and The Other had earlier that morning. It truly seemed eons ago.

“The Chitauri grow restless,” it had hissed.

“Let them go at themselves,” Loki had snorted. “I will lead them into glorious battle.”

“Battle?” The Other scoffed. “Against the meager might of Earth?”

“Glorious, not lengthy,” Loki rolled his eyes. “If your force is as formidable as you claim.”

“You question us?” The Other demanded. “You question HIM? He who put the scepter in your hand, who gave you ancient knowledge and new purpose when you were cast out, defeated?”

“I was a king!” Loki shouted. “The rightful king of Asgard! Betrayed!”

“Your ambition is little, born of childish need,” The Other scoffed. “We look beyond the Earth to greater worlds the Tesseract will unveil.”

“You don’t have the Tesseract yet,” Loki reminded it. The Other moved to attack, but Loki held it back with his scepter. 

“I don’t threaten, but until I open the door, until your force is mine to command, you are but words,” Loki said.

“You will have your war, Asgardian,” The Other hissed. “If you fail, the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where He can’t find you… or those you love.”

Loki stood firm, not wanting to let The Other see the fear in his eyes. The Other conjured up an image of Sigyn, lying in their bed on Asgard, her hand gently stroking his helm.

“Bewitching, isn’t she?” The Other salivated. “I wonder what He would think of her, what sounds of pain he could conjure from her body. I wonder if she could be broken and remade as you were, if she would survive.”

“Do not mock me with your idle threats,” Loki hissed.

“These are promises if your duties are not fulfilled,” The Other said. “If you fail us, you will watch her suffer. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain.”

Loki opened his eyes. Somehow, he would have to get his Sigyn off this gods damned ship.


	3. Chapter 2: A Pound of Flesh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Necessity has never made a good bargain - Benjamin Franklin_

Since they hadn’t been expecting two extra Asgardians on the helicarrier with them, it had taken a little while for SHIELD to shuffle some things around and find rooms for Thor and Sigyn to stay in. While the rooms were small and a bit cramped, they were fortunately just across the hall from each other. Tensions were mounting between the other Midgardians, particularly the Man of Iron and the one they called the Captain. Unfortunately, Sigyn had not been able to glean much from Loki during their brief conversation to help with the situation. If anything, Sigyn had left the room more upset than she had arrived in it. With Banner and Stark attempting to find the location of the cube and the Captain gone off who knows where after an altercation with Stark, things did not seem to be improving.

Thor had set off to find Sigyn and check in on her. He didn’t believe - as many of the others seemed to - that Sigyn was involved in Loki’s machinations. If Loki had involved his wife, he would not have let her languish in Asgard for so long. No, Loki prefered to have Sigyn at his side and would have sent for her at the first moment possible - so long as it was safe to do so. Sigyn, for her part, seemed bewildered by the way her husband was acting. While Thor liked to think he knew his brother well, Loki’s actions in the past few years gave him reason to doubt he knew his brother at all. However, Sigyn had always known Loki the best of anyone. Thor had no doubt that discovering her husband alive only to find him embroiled in attempts to take over the planet was sending her into a deep, internal conflict. The only person he knew more empathetic than Sigyn was his own mother. 

When he arrived, Thor knocked on the door and a small voice bid him enter. Sigyn was sitting on the cot-style bed in the cramped room, playing with her bracelet again. Like the room Thor had been assigned, Sigyn’s room had the bed, a dresser, a desk and a small room with a toilet and sink inside. Some food had been brought to Sigyn from the commissary and she had picked at the meal left on the desk. Thor wasn’t sure if she hadn’t eaten much because she was unused to Midgardian cuisine or if she was too nervous to do so. Now, she was curled up on the stiffly made bed. Thor’s heart ached for her. From the moment his brother and Sigyn had been wed, he had thought of the young woman as if she was his sister by blood. He wanted to remain strong for her, but he wasn’t sure how to approach the current situation. He was worried about telling her that things with Loki would turn out fine in the end, especially since he wasn’t sure how that could happen. He had been at war with himself since he had been sent to Midgard, wondering if he should spare Sigyn heartbreak now even though it might make her heartbreak down the road more devastating.

“How do you fare, sister?” Thor asked her.

“As well as can be, considering,” Sigyn sighed, sitting up to face him.

“I worry that being here may cause you more heartache,” Thor admitted. “Loki is not the same as when he left Asgard…”

“Of course not,” Sigyn snorted. “How could he be?”

“Sigyn…” Thor began.

“No,” she said harshly, “your father neglects to tell him of his origins, only to allow him to discover them in the most cruel fashion. I know Odin is a stoic man, but the time to remain emotionless is not when your child is begging for recognition, for proof that he is loved.”

“The Allfather does things in his own unique way…” Thor began.

“You understand your father and the ways he works,” Sigyn interjected. “You know that he is not always forthright with his feelings and can accept that. Loki is not you, Thor. He needs something more than that. Perhaps the way your father communicates is enough for you, but you and your brother are different in many ways. Your mother can see it and she adjusts herself accordingly in the way she treats the both of you. Your father does not, and then he fails to see how his own actions have contributed to the way his younger son has become.”

“He is a good father,” Thor argued.

“The man sees his son there, dangling over a precipice and begging for some recognition, some scrap of love and all your father could say to him is ‘no,’” Sigyn snarled. “Perhaps he did not agree, but at that point,the safety of his son should have been more important than being right. Even telling a lie would have been preferable in that situation, Thor. It was the lie Loki needed to hear. Can you honestly say that if you could do it all again you would want your father to have the same reaction? Or would you want him to do what was necessary to prevent your brother from sinking into what he has become.”

Thor was silent. He knew Sigyn was right, but he wanted to believe there was some wisdom in what his father had done, that Odin had not been cruel but instead working toward a greater goal for Loki.

“You must know that deep down it isn’t easy to be in Loki’s shoes,” Sigyn said to him. “He is always the younger brother, the spare to the heir. Throughout his childhood he was told and encouraged that you both could achieve the same greatness, and now he sees all that was promised to him ripped from his grasp. You experienced that when you fell to Midgard. Loki has felt it every day of his life.”

“I know I have failed my brother,” Thor said bitterly.

“You are not the only one,” Sigyn admitted, rubbing her bracelet in thought. “There was more I could have done… I just wanted to believe so badly that things would turn out alright in the end. I was so terrified that Loki was teetering on the edge of his sanity that I refused to allow myself to consider what could happen to him…”

“You have always wanted the best for him,” Thor insisted. “You have always seen him when he has felt invisible. This is a hard thing we face now. I know this will not be easy for you, and I hate to ask this of you, but without your aid, Sigyn, I do not know if we will be able to pull him from this darkness.”

“I do not know how I could go on without him,” Sigyn choked out. “I have been trying for the past year to do so, and if I have lost him again, I do not think I can go on.”

“There are others, sister,” Thor attempted to assure her, “who would love you the way you deserve. Who could give you a happy life.”

“No one could love me as he does,” Sigyn insisted. “But more than that, I could never love anyone else. We know each other in ways no one can understand. We have been there for each other in the worst of times and made it through. Everyone has always seen me as the light to his darkness, that I am the one who sees him through. But that is not always the truth. I have a darkness within myself, and without him, I fear it could consume me. We are each other’s counter balance. One shift of the weight in either direction and things become uneven.”

“I know the thought of having him back, having him so close, and yet being unable to help him is disconcerting,” Thor sighed. “Despite all he has done, Loki is still my brother. And he is still your husband.”

“The being that traipses back and forth across that cell may wear his face, but it is not my husband,” Sigyn said darkly. “I fear we may be too late to retrieve him from within this thing he has become.”

“Sigyn,” Thor said worriedly. “What do you mean?”

“Have you looked into his eyes?” Sigyn asked. Thor opened his mouth, but was interrupted by the sound of a knock on the door. It swung open to reveal Phil Coulson standing there with a StarkPad in his hands.

“Oh, well, I’m glad I found both of you,” Phil smiled kindly.

“Son of Coul!” Thor smiled brightly, “do come in!” Phil did so and pulled up the desk chair so he could face the two of them.

“How are you holding up?” Phil asked Sigyn. She let out a shaky sigh.

“I shall be fine,” Sigyn insisted. “The important thing is assuring the safety of your friends and helping my husband return to normal.”

“I know this can’t be easy for you,” Phil said, “but thank you for doing it anyway.” Phil turned to Thor, handing him the StarkPad with a picture of Jane Foster on it. 

“So that is her?” Sigyn smiled at her brother-in-law. Thor smiled as well in spite of himself.

“As soon as Loki took the doctor we moved Jane Foster. We’ve got an excellent observatory in Tromsø,” Coulson explained. “She was asked to consult there very suddenly yesterday. Handsome fee, private plane, very remote. She’ll be safe.”

“Thank you,” Thor nodded. “It’s no accident Loki taking Erik Selvig. I dread what he plans for him once he is done. Erik is a good man.”

“He talks about you a lot,” Phil mentioned. “You changed his life. You changed everything around here.”

“They were better as they were,” Thor said stoically. “We pretend on Asgard that we’re more advanced, but we… we come here battling like Bilgesnipe.”

“Like what?” Phil asked.

“Bilgesnipe,” Thor said, “You know: huge, scaly, big antlers… You don’t have those?”

“Don’t think so…” Coulson said.

“They are repulsive and they trample everything in their path,” Thor said. 

“They are cute when they are little,” Sigyn offered as Thor stood up and walked to the end of her tiny room.

“When I first came to earth, Loki’s rage followed me here and your people paid the price,” Thor said. “And now again. In my youth, I courted war.”

“War has started yet,” Nick Fury said from the door, startling the room’s occupants. He looked at Sigyn. “Do you think you can make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is and what he is using it for?”

“I do not know,” Sigyn admitted. “Loki’s mind is far afield.”

“It’s not just power he craves,” Thor agreed. “It’s vengeance upon me. There’s no pain that would prize his need for him… except maybe…” His eyes looked to Sigyn.

“It’s funny you should suggest that,” Fury said. “He’s asked to see her again.”

“Truly?” Sigyn said, surprised. “The last time we spoke… he seemed as though he wanted to get rid of me as quickly as possible.”

“He says he wants to negotiate, but he wants to talk with you first,” Fury said. “You know, he seemed pretty pleased to be on this ship until he saw you were here, too.”

“I am a variable he did not count on,” Sigyn admitted. 

“In my experience, that makes men like Loki either very stupid or very dangerous,” Fury said. “Or both.”

“I will see what he has to say,” Sigyn said, rising from her cot. “I will try my best to help.”

“Coulson and I will be with you,” Fury informed her.

“I understand,” Sigyn nodded.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“There you are, my _lykyng_ ,” Loki smirked when Sigyn entered the room, flanked by Coulson and Fury on either side. “I hope these Midgardians are providing you with only the best.”

“They have been kind to me,” Sigyn nodded. 

“It is unfortunate they would not let us be alone again.” Loki said, giving his wife a lascivious once-over. “Were it not for these walls and their eyes, I am sure we could find more pleasant ways to reacquaint ourselves.”

“What is it you want, husband?” Sigyn asked, more annoyed than pleased with her husband’s change in tone.

“I am sorry for the way I behaved earlier,” Loki said, seeming at least somewhat apologetic. “I was surprised to see you here, and was unprepared to greet you properly. I am sorry for that. And I am sorry I was away for so long. Had it not been imperative to your safety, I would have found you sooner. But such things should be kept in the past where they belong. For now, I think we should be glad to be reunited with one another, even if the setting is not as… intimate as I would prefer.”

“You can smooth talk her later, Loki,” Fury interrupted, clearly unimpressed. “You said you wanted to negotiate and you would only do so if we brought your wife. We held up our end of the bargain.”

“And you expect me to do the same?” Loki asked quizzically.

“Ant, boot,” Fury reminded him tersely. 

“Alright,” Loki said, continuing to pace. “My wife will be escorted off of this ship and to a safehouse - the most secure one you have - until such a time as she can be returned to Asgard. You will provide a squadron of your best agents to protect her around the clock…”

“Loki…” Sigyn attempted to interrupt.

“Some of my best agents are currently under your mind control,” Fury pointed out. “Besides, if you expect me to go to such lengths to protect her, I better be getting something damn good in return. You are aware how negotiations work?”

“Bargains are my specialty,” Loki smirked.

“Then give me something to work with,” Fury demanded.

“You will ensure my wife’s safety,” Loki said, “and in return I will return Barton and your other agents to you.”

“You want to trade Barton and twenty two other SHIELD operatives for one woman?” Fury repeated.

“Once I am assured Sigyn is safe, I will have them aboard this ship and I will return their minds to them,” Loki agreed. 

“Considering the fact that you destroyed one of my most secure facilities, created an international incident by attacking civilians and killed nearly seven dozen people, I’m not exactly inclined to escort your wife off this ship as a good faith effort so you’ll hold up your end of the deal,” Fury snorted. 

“A wise choice,” Sigyn muttered.

“How exactly are you going to reverse this control you have on my men?” Fury demanded to know.

“Well, I will need the scepter,” Loki began.

“No deal,” Fury said. “I may have lost one eye, but I’m not blind. And I’m certainly not stupid.” Loki muttered something that Sigyn thought sounded like “that’s debatable” under his breath in Asgardian.

“Husband, you must see how this arrangement would not be pleasing to our hosts,” Sigyn pointed out.

“Your hosts, my captors,” Loki simpered back at her. 

“He is not getting ahold of that scepter again,” Fury informed Sigyn tersley.

“You will have a care how you speak to my wife,” Loki said furiously. Coulson put his hand on his gun, not liking how threateningly Loki was leering from his cage.

“That thing is too dangerous in his hands,” Fury reminded Sigyn, ignoring Loki completely.

“And how do you intend to unfog the minds of your agents, then?” Loki pointed out. “They are controlled by the scepter and the only way to release their minds is through the scepter. One would have to be very well versed in the magical arts to use it… otherwise… the consequences could be disastrous. And I am giving you all of this, as you said, for one woman.”

“Yeah, will excuse me if it seems to me that having her here might be more of an asset to us,” Fury said. “You might be more cooperative if you knew you weren’t the only one facing consequences.”

“Perhaps Asgard does not care what you do with me,” Loki pointed out, “but Sigyn is a princess of Asgard and a daughter of both Vanaheim and Niðavellir. There are many in those realms who think as I do, who would not hesitate to fight if they felt Midgard was treating one of their own unfairly. I doubt this would be the time for Midgard to face off against the might and fury of those three realms combined.”

Fury was silent for a moment, debating in his head what to do. Sigyn seemed to be studying her husband, as if looking for some invisible trait the rest of them could not see. Coulson kept his hand on his gun, his eyes darting back and forth between his boss, the prisoner and Sigyn. 

“Your wife told me something interesting earlier,” Fury mentioned.

“Oh?” Loki said, raising an eyebrow.

“She informed me that she’s studied these same so-called magical arts since she was a girl,” Fury pointed out. “I understand the two of you studied these things together.”

“Yes,” Loki said, not seeming to like where this was going.

“Maybe the rest of us ‘mere mortals’ might not be able to handle this artifact of yours,” Fury said. “But I’m willing to wager she can. After all, she hog-tied you without so much as batting an eyelash.”

“This scepter is not a sword or an axe that can be used interchangeably and in the same way by any buffoon with a basic knowledge of battle strategy,” Loki snorted. “It is a complex and adroit weapon. It requires a deft hand and a certain amount of acumen and guile.”

“Are you saying I am incapable of wielding this weapon of yours?” Sigyn huffed, seeming to take her husband’s words as a personal slight. Both Fury and Coulson might have found it funny if the situation wasn’t so dire.

“I am saying that if even slightly off, if even the most subtle of movements can alter its potential and prove catastrophic,” Loki said, seeming a little exasperated with his wife. “Besides, Sigyn has not studied it. She will not know what needs to be done to reverse the spells.”

“Then you’ll guide her through it,” Fury announced. “She’ll use the scepter to reverse what you have done to my men based on your guidance. I think having her life hang in the balance will motivate you to keep your end of our deal. Once she’s done, we’ll give her a safehouse and an armed escort.”

“That is not the bargain,” Loki hissed.

“We came here to negotiate,” Fury responded. “I’ve negotiated. Your wife for my men. That was the bargain you proposed. I just changed the terms. Take them or leave them.”

Fury turned to leave the room, leaving Loki to stew and think on what had been said. Sigyn wanted to speak to her husband, approaching the glass cage and putting her hand on it. Loki continued to stride about his enclosure, not returning the gesture. Coulson gingerly touched Sigyn, signalling to her that they would have to leave. Reluctantly, she walked out of the room with him, glancing briefly back over her shoulder at her husband as the doors closed behind her.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not taking any changes, Fury had Coulson escort Sigyn back to her chambers. An armed guard would be stationed outside of her room to make sure no one left or entered. Coulson, for his part, would be playing babysitter to Loki’s bride until anything further developed. While it was probably a bit below Coulson’s paygrade to be a bodyguard to a princess - even an alien one - Coulson didn’t seem to mind the job. Sigyn seemed friendly with him anyway. Despite her generally pleasant disposition, Fury wasn’t letting his guard down around her. She was still Loki’s wife and he wouldn’t be surprised if she was part of some long con the trickster god had planned.

Negotiating with Loki wasn’t really Fury’s Plan B. In fact, any plan that involved Loki as even an observer was much further down the alphabet in Fury’s mind. He had intended for the team he had assembled to locate the Tesseract, secure it and find some way to undo whatever mumbo jumbo Loki had put on some of SHIELD’s finest. Because he had hoped that this could be accomplished without Loki’s involvement, he was not very pleased to find Banner and Stark didn’t seem to be actually working on anything related to their assigned tasks when he entered Banner’s lab.

“What are you doing, Mr. Stark?” Fury demanded, his patience wearing thin. 

“Uh… kind of been wondering the same thing about you,” Stark shot back. 

“You’re supposed to be locating the Tesseract,” Fury replied.

“We are,” Banner said. “The model’s locked and we’re sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we’ll have the location within half a mile.”

“And you’ll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss,” Stark smirked. He suddenly turned his monitor around. “What is Phase 2?” Before Fury could answer, Rogers entered the room, placing one of the weapons SHIELD had been working on atop the table with a huge thud.

“Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons,” Steve said angrily before turning to Tony. “Sorry. The computer was moving a little slow.”

“Rogers,” Fury said with a sigh, “we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we’re…”

“I’m sorry, Nick,” Tony interrupted, moving his computer screen to showcase the weapons plans. “What were you lying?”

“I was wrong director,” Steve said as Thor and Natasha entered the lab. “The world hasn’t changed a bit.”

“Did you know about this?” Banner demanded of Natasha.

“You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?” she suggested.

“I was in Calcutta,” Banner retorted. “I was pretty well removed.”

“Loki’s manipulating you,” Natasha warned.

“And you’ve been doing what, exactly?” Banner shot back.

“You didn’t come here because I bat my eyelashes at you,” she snorted. 

“Yes, and I’m not leaving because you suddenly get a little twitchy,” Banner replied. “I’d like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction.”

“Because of him,” Fury said, point at Thor.

“Me?” Thor said, surprised. 

“Last year, earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town,” Fury explained. “We learned that not only are we not alone but we are hopelessly, hilariously outgunned.”

“My people want nothing but peace with your planet,” Thor insisted.

“But you’re not the only people out there, are you?” Fury pointed out. “And you’re not the only threat. The world’s filling up with people who can’t be matched. They can’t be controlled.”

“Like you controlled the cube?” Steve snorted.

“Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it and his allies,” Thor replied. “it is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war.”

“A higher form?” Steve said, not believing there was such a thing.

“You forced our hand,” Fury insisted. “WE had to come up with something.”

“A nuclear deterrent,” Stark scoffed. “Cause that always calms everything right down.”

“Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?” Fury challenged.

“I’m sure if he still made weapons” Steve said, “Stark would be neck deep in this about now.”

“Wait, wait! Hold on!” Stark said angrily. “How is this about me.”

“Isn’t everything?” Steve shot back.

“I thought humans were more evolved that this,” Thor snorted.

“Excuse me,” Fury said angrily. “did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?”

“Do you always give your champions such mistrust?” Thor replied. The team continued to argue, unaware of the glowing hue emitting from the scepter.

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos,” Thor said.

“It’s his M.O., isn’t it?” Banner said. “I mean, what are we, a team? No, no. We’re a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We’re... we’re a time bomb…”

“You need to step away,” Fury ordered Banner. 

“Why shouldn’t the guy let off a little steam,” Tony said, putting his arm around Steve.

“You know damn well why!” Steve replied, shoving Tony off of him. “Back off!”

“Oh,” Tony said, getting in Steve’s face, “I’m starting to want you to make me.”

“Big man in a suit of armor,” Steve scoffed. “Take that off, what are you?”

“Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist,” Tony smirked.

“I know guys none of that worth ten of you,” Steve replied. “I’ve seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You’re not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl  
over you.”

“I think I would just cut the wire,” Tony smirked.

“Always a way out,” Steve shook his head. “You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero.”

“A hero? Like you?” Tony fumed. “You’re a lab rat, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle.”

“Put on the suit,” Steve insisted. “Let’s go a few founds.”

“You people are so petty,” Thor smiled, “... and tiny.”

“Agent Romanoff,” Fury ordered, “would you escort Dr. Banner back to his…”

“Where?” Banner interrupted. “You rented my room.”

“The cell was just in case…” Fury began.

“In case you needed to kill me,” Banner finished. “But you can’t. I know. I tried.” The room suddenly became very quiet. “I got low. I didn’t see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the Other Guy spit it out. So I moved on. I focused on helping people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk.” Banner turned to look at Romanoff. “You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm.” Both Fury and Romanoff put their hands on their guns.

“Dr. Banner,” Steve said calmly, “put down the scepter.” 

Banner looked at the scepter, terrified to see he had grabbed it. Just then, the computer beeped, signalling the algorithm had located the Tesseract.

“Got it!” Tony declared as Banner put down the scepter.

“Sorry kids,” Banner said bitterly. “Guess you don’t get to see my little party trick after all.”

“Located the Tesseract?” Thor asked hopefully.

“I can get there faster,” Tony said.

“Look, all of us…” Steve began.

“The Tesseract belongs on Asgard,” Thor said. “No human is a match for it.” Tony started to leave, but Steve stopped him. 

“You’re not going alone!” Steve ordered.

“You gonna stop me?” Tony snorted.

“Put on the suit,” Steve replied, “let’s find out.

“I’m not afraid to hit an old man,” Tony scoffed.

“Put on the suit,” Steve demanded. A voice over the intercom suddenly interrupted the fight, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

“Sir,” Maria Hill’s voice said to Director Fury, “Loki says that he agrees to your terms. He also said that you better hurry up if you don’t want this helicarrier blown out of the sky.”

“And how does he intend to do that from his cage?” Tony scoffed.

“He said he has his ways,” Hill replied. Most of the room looked to Thor.

“It would not surprise me,” Thor sighed, “even if Sigyn is on the ship. I’m sure he believes he could save her in time.”

“Keep us headed toward the Tesseract’s location,” Fury ordered. He looked at Banner and Stark. “I want you two to make sure these coordinates stay the same. I wouldn’t be surprised if he used some of those talents of his to move it.” He turned to Rogers, Romanoff and Thor. “The three of you are coming with me.”

“What bargain is this, exactly?” Tony asked. 

“Yeah,” Steve agreed begrudgingly. “I’d rather know what you’re getting us into.”

“He’s going to instruct Sigyn on how to use the scepter to get our guys back,” Fury replied. “I don’t trust it in his hands, and he’s not going to tell her to do anything dangerous with it. Once that’s taken care of, we’ve promised to keep her safe until she can be taken home.”

“I thought you said your brother loves having his wife around,” Tony piped up to Thor. “Personally, I feel safer with her on this ship as opposed to off it.”

“Well, that’s all contingent on him holding up his end of the bargain,” Fury said. Heading out of the room. Rogers, Romanoff and Thor followed him, none of them seeming particularly pleased with the arrangement.

“And how do we know that once we give her this scepter she’s not going to turn on us?” Romanoff pointed out. “That she’s not going to use it to free him? And then take the Tesseract back?”

“Sigyn would do no such thing,” Thor said. “Yes, she has had a hand in smaller mischief my brother has done, but not the kind that would hurt others. She is mortified by the chaos he has caused on Midgard.”

“And you know her well enough to guarantee this?” Steve asked. Thor thought a moment on how best to explain.

“I have known her since before we both lost all of our children’s teeth,” Thor explained. “Perhaps my brother has changed, but Sigyn has always been known for her steadfastness. She is one of few who can stand up to him and come out the victor. And when they do fight, she is usually the victor. She is also a child of the dwarves, a race often seen in our world as inferior. She has more sympathy for Midgard than her husband, and it is not in Sigyn’s nature to wish those harm, particularly those whose might is not as great as Asgard.”

“She roots for the underdog,” Steve nodded.

“Under what dog?” Thor asked, confused as they arrived at Sigyn’s room. 

Before Fury even raised his hand to knock, the door had opened revealing Sigyn and Coulson. Apparently, Coulson had been begrudgingly showing Sigyn the footage of the Destroyer SHIELD had captured from the year before. Thor wasn’t exactly pleased, but he understood why Sigyn might feel the urge to see what her husband had done. When she saw Fury’s face, she seemed resigned to whatever fate had in store.

“I take it my husband has accepted your terms,” Sigyn said diplomatically.

“Yes,” Fury said. 

“Very well, then,” Sigyn said, sticking her hands out as if she was ready for them to be cuffed.

“Miss…” Fury began, not sure how exactly one addressed a princess of Asgard.

“I understand you are not keen to trust me,” Sigyn explained to him calmly. “I know that this is not the way you have things be. If I could give you any sense of security, I would be willing to have my hands bound for your peace of mind. You may use your small shackles or the larger chain I have brought with me. It is unbreakable.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary, ma’am,” Coulson said politely.

“I think your husband would have a conniption if we marched you in there in chains,” Fury pointed out. “And we are going to need his cooperation.”

“Very well,” Sigyn said, her arms falling back to her side. “I promise I will not lay a hand on the scepter until you allow me to. And if, for an instant I feel my husband’s orders are not what he promised you, I will relent.”

“In my experience,” Natasha said skeptically, “most wives aren’t this willing to through their husband under the bus.” Sigyn scrunched up her nose, trying to glean what Natasha was saying from context clues.

“I want my husband - my real husband - returned to me,” Sigyn said. “I think SHIELD can help me do that.”

“You’re trying to tell me that the man in that room is not your husband?” Fury snorted.

“It is his body, but not his mind,” Sigyn said. “Much like how the body of the one you call Barton has been seen in my husband’s company, but it is clear to all of you that Barton is not in possession of his own mind.”

“You think that someone else is mind controlling your husband,” Steve reiterated, sort of wishing he could go back under the ice for a little bit and wake up when this was all over.

“You said his eyes,” Thor said. “His eyes were wrong… I see it now...They are blue.”

“What’s this about blue eyes?” Fury demanded to know.

“My brother has green eyes,” Thor said. “His eyes are blue.”

“Barton and Selvig’s eyes turned blue when Loki used the scepter on them,” Fury said coldly. “You think he’s being mind controlled the same way the are?”

“I have my theories,” Sigyn admitted, fiddling with her ever-present snake bracelet. “I suspect he is being used as a tool much the way he has used this scepter. But I cannot be sure. First, we will see to the security of your men. Then we can focus on my husband. If there is something else or someone else at play here, the best way to find out who they are and where would be by returning my husband to his right frame of mind.”

“It’ll be pretty hard to help us organize all that from your safehouse,” Fury pointed out.

“Come now,” Sigyn smirked, a slight twinkle in her eye. “We both know you never had any intention of removing me from this ship.”

“Why have you not told us this until now?” Thor demanded.

“I just put the pieces together,” Sigyn replied.

“We need to get the scepter and get this over with,” Fury demanded. He looked at Sigyn intently. “When this is over, you and I are going to have a long talk.” Sigyn for her part, just smiled slightly.  
Fury gestured for her to step out of the room. With two agents to her front, Coulson and Fury on either side and Thor bringing up the rear, Sigyn’s escort seemed something really befitting a princess. Rogers and Romanoff fell into step behind her. Steve had been impressed with the pint-sized princess from the moment he met her. Sigyn’s spunk and height had reminded him of himself before the serum. There was also that intelligence and sparkle in her eyes that reminded him a little of Peggy Carter. He tried not to focus on that thought. 

Natasha, for her part, didn’t trust Sigyn any further than she could probably throw Mjolnir, but then again, she trusted few people more than that anyway. Sigyn was still the wife of a known creator of chaos and mass murderer. They said behind every great man stood a woman, but there were plenty of women behind the evil men, too. Lenin, Ceaușescu, Marcos, Peron, Chairman Mao, Papa Doc - all of these men had wives who stood by them no matter what, just like Sigyn seemed to be doing now.

The group arrived back at Banner’s lab. Banner seemed to be delivering a complicated set of instructions about the coordinates he had discovered to someone in charge of steering the ship. Stark was throwing blueberries up in the air and catching them in his mouth. When Fury entered, Sigyn and Coulson behind him, Stark looked up and shot them his typical, Devil-may-care smirk.

“Thanks for the armed guard by the door, by the way,” Stark said to Fury. “Doesn’t make this feel like a hostage situation at all.”

“We’re taking the scepter,” Fury said, as if daring him to challenge it.

“And you’re going to wield it, huh Princess Leia?” Stark said to Sigyn challengingly.

“Her name is Sigyn,” Thor boomed from outside the room. Sigyn, for her part, seemed to let the jest roll off of her.

“I am going to try,” Sigyn replied. “I understand if you are skeptical of my abilities or my loyalty.”

“I just want to know what guarantee we have that you aren’t going to take that magic wand, grab your husband and split,” Stark snorted.

“You don’t have one,” Sigyn replied honestly. “I have not earned your trust, and so I have no right to ask for it.” Stark seemed a bit surprised and a little entertained by Sigyn’s honesty.

“Personally, I think we’d be better off blowing this thing to smithereens than using it,” Stark said to her, conspiratorially.

“Alas, there is usually unintended consequences when destroying something so powerful,” Sigyn sighed. “But were you to find a way to safely dispose of it, I would not begrudge you that honor.”

“Kid seems alright,” Stark pronounced to the room.

“Isn’t she like a thousand years old?” Banner pointed out, earning a sharp glare from Sigyn that turned his entire face red.

“Sigyn is less than a thousand,” Thor admitted, finding Sigyn’s angry glare now focused on himself.

“And it’s rude to point out a lady’s age,” Steve interjected. Stark rolled his eyes at the three of them.

“Sir,” Hill’s voice said over Fury’s comm, “there is a quinjet asking permission to dock. Sounds like Barton on the other end. Said something about being expected?” The eyes of everyone in the room cut to Fury in anticipation.

“Alright,” Fury sighed, removing the scepter from its holster, “let’s get this shit show on the road.”


	4. Chapter 3: The Girl and the Snake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> _Love me when I least deserve it, because that’s when I really need it. - Swedish Proverb  
> _  
> 

“I wasn’t aware we would be performing for an audience,” Loki sneered.

He had not seemed pleased when Sigyn was accompanied back into the room with two armed guards as well as the Super Soldier, the female spy and his adopted brother in addition to Fury and Coulson. Loki had begrudgingly agreed to allow Sigyn to wield the scepter and undo his trickery in exchange for her safety, but the presence of so many in the room seem to make him downright agitated. His pacing across his cell seemed to be more fervent and his eyes darted back and forth. He occasionally looked over his shoulder, as if he thought he was being watched by something unseen.

“You wanted her to be safe, didn’t you?” Fury said in a challenging tone. “I’d think you would be pleased without well protected she is in this room.”

“Barton and the others are in…” Hill’s voice said.

“Do we have the tactical team to meet them?” Fury asked her.

“Affirmative,” Hill replied. Fury then turned to Sigyn skeptically. 

“He better not be planning to use my agents to free himself and take you with him,” Fury informed her quietly. “That would not end pleasantly for either of you.”

“He cannot do much without the scepter,” Sigyn said. “I won’t give it back to him if you won’t.”

“I know you,” Loki sneered at Romanoff. “Barton told me everything about you. Drakov’s daughter. Sao Paulo. The hospital fire?” Romanoff remained stoic. 

“We’re not here to play games,” Fury said. “You have a bargain to uphold.”

“Ah, yes,” Loki said, stalking back toward where his wife and Fury stood. “Are you ready, _lykyng_?”

“Yes,” Sigyn said confidentially as she met her husband’s gaze.

For a moment, Loki stepped backwards almost as if he had stumbled. A strange expression seemed to come across his face, as if he had just woken up in an unfamiliar room and was attempting to get his bearings. He looked at Sigyn almost as if he was surprised to see her there. He also caught a glimpse of the scepter, and suddenly looked back to his wife, a trace of fear in his eyes. Fury exchanged a look with Coulson while Steve and Natasha did the same. Thor squinted at his brother, seeing for himself that Sigyn’s theories were not just an attempt to assure herself things with her husband could be turned to right again.

“Sigyn,” he said, his voice sounding more timid than anyone save perhaps Thor and Sigyn had heard before, “you do not have to do this if you don’t wish to.”

“My life for yours, if ever need be,” Sigyn replied to him quietly. “Do you remember?”

“Yes,” Loki whispered. He he stood up straighter and looked to Fury, the coldness in his eyes returning. “We should begin. Hand her the scepter.”

“I’d feel more comfortable if we both had it,” Fury said.

“Then it won’t work,” Loki hissed at him. Fury looked at Sigyn and then, reluctantly handed her the scepter, his hand going to his gun as he did so. In fact, Sigyn quickly realized that her husband, Thor and Steve Rogers were the only ones without some kind of weapon pointed at her in that moment.

“With one hand, now, dear heart,” Loki instructed. 

He began issuing commands in another language, which the rest of the room only assumed was Asgardian. Thor seemed tense but not worried about anything his brother was saying, which provided a modicum of comfort for the others in the room. Sigyn repeated some of the words and moved the scepter slightly upon his coaxing. A blue light seemed to emit from the scepter and be snaking out of the room when Hill buzzed Fury’s comm again.

“Sir… Barton and the others… they’ve taken out the tactical team…” Hill said, trying not to betray her worry in her voice. “They appear to be heading toward the cell…” 

“Romanoff,” Fury barked as he reached for the scepter back, “take a squad.” Without further instruction, the Black Widow raced from the room just as Fury grabbed ahold of the scepter. 

In an instant, the room seemed bathed in the blue light that had once just been trickling out of it. Fury felt the scepter tugged from him and reached for his gun, ready to point it any any hostiles. He could tell through the thick mist that Coulson was doing the same. Lightning seemed to crackle from the corner of the room where Thor had been standing and then, one of the twin agents they had brought in began firing at something indiscriminately. Sigyn screamed, something like a body dropped to the floor and Loki let out a strangled cry in Fury’s direction.

“YOU FOOL!” he shouted as the mist began to clear. The sound of another body seemed to drop. “I was bringing them to protect her!”

“From what?” Fury demanded to know as the emergency alarms and whistles began going off around the ship.

As the mist cleared, it was revealed a group of fifteen or so strange alien beings were gathered on the opposite side of the room. They had some humanoid features but overall looked like giant gray lizard men with terrifying mouths. A few of them seemed to have guns where their arms should be. Two were holding Sigyn back up against a wall, weapons at her throat. Another was holding the scepter. The bodies of the two agents that had come into the room were lying in a heap, contorted in unnatural positions. While the rest of the room was stunned, Loki had managed to force his way out of his cell and was casting whatever spells he could toward them.

“Thanks to your carelessness,” a cold, disembodied voice echoed in the room, “we have no need of you now. But we will be going along with the plans accordingly. And I am sure he will be pleased to have a new pet.”

At once, the room seemed to return to life. The bullets from Fury and Coulson’s guns didn’t seem to damage the strange creatures. Steve, thankful he had decided to bring his shield, threw it at two of the creatures and managed to knock them out. Thor, for his part, began bashing in heads with his hammer. He and Loki seemed to be working in tandem, doing whatever they could to prevent the creatures from exiting with Sigyn through the room’s only door. Coulson headed for one of the crates in the room with an untested Phase 2 weapon, hoping it could help somewhat.

“Barton’s still at large,” Romanoff said over the comms. “He’s the only one who managed to get away. Apparently, we don’t need that scepter to bring these guys back to their senses. A good punch to the head works just fine.”

“Forget about Barton for now. Initiate official lockdown in the detention section,” Fury ordered over the comm. “I need all the fire power I can get.”

“Loki?” Hill asked.

“Worse,” Fury responded.

“What could be…” Natasha said. “Oхуеть, what _are_ those things?” 

When Fury looked up, he saw that the majority of the creatures in the room were still there. Loki and Rogers had taken out one apiece. Thor seemed to have gotten two. The second creature that had been holding Sigyn was down on the floor, and Fury had a sneaking suspicion Sigyn had taken that one out herself. Four more remained in the room. There was no telling how many had been there originally in the room or where the six others among the creatures Fury had initially counted had gotten off to, though he figured Romanoff had an inkling. Fury began focusing on barking out orders since there didn’t seem to be any weapons that would kill these things on hand. Rogers wasn’t too far from him, trying to take down the remaining creatures while Coulson was busy suiting up with the one Phase 2 weapon they had decided to keep near Loki’s cell as a precaution. Only one of the creatures was now holding Sigyn, but it was holding a strange knife to her throat. Both Loki and Thor seemed at an impasse with it, not wanting to move forward lest the creature inch closer to the door but not ready to take it on unless it tried to hurt her.

“You have failed,” the creature said to Loki, “but she will pay.” 

As the creature raised its sword, another creature standing behind Loki raised its gun-hand to fire it at the prince’s head. In one split-second movement, Sigyn reached downward, not to stop the creature holding her captive from slicing into her with his knife but to run the fingers of her right hand along the snake bangle she wore on her left wrist. With some strange words, a golden light emanated from the snake. Instead of a gold bangle, the snake was now a living breathing creature and it shot forth, attacking the creature behind Loki by latching its mouth onto the creature’s neck. While Sigyn had protected her husband, she had not saved herself. At the exact instant the snake landed on Loki’s attacker, Sigyn’s captor sunk his blade into her side. The searing pain was apparent by the contortion on her face. The actions had only taken seconds, but everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. The creature allowed Sigyn to drop to the ground and both Loki and Thor dove after her, not seeming to care if her captor or any of his fellow creatures advanced or retreated. The body of Loki’s attacker hit the floor soon after Sigyn’s body, Sigyn’s snake still suckling from its neck. The snake removed itself with a pop and then slithered out of the room. 

“Sigyn!” Loki let out a strange, strangled scream, crawling to his wife’s body and cradling her face in his hands. 

The creature that had been holding Sigyn hostage lifted his knife again as if to strike down either Loki or Thor below him. However, a blast of energy shot him back against the wall and then his body sank down on the ground. Loki and Thor both momentarily looked up to see where the blast had come from as did Rogers and Fury. Coulson had finally managed to put together the Phase 2 gun and seemed just as stunned as everyone else that it had worked. Before anything could be said, an arrow sailed through the room and exploded in the face of the only other remaining creature in the room as Barton skidded into the room, his bow aimed to see if there was anything else he could shoot. Rogers looked at Loki in surprise.

“You were bringing them here to protect her,” Steve said to Loki, putting his shield back on his back.

“I need medic. STAT,” Fury yelled over his comm. “We’ve got a critical.” Barton was now standing over where Sigyn was lying. Loki was holding his wife’s body close to him, babbling incoherently in a language the others could only assume was his native tongue.

“She will be fine, brother,” Thor assured him as Fury stood up and walked over to Barton. For his part, Barton pointed his arrow at his commanding officer, ready to defend the woman below him. 

“Sigyn,” Loki begged. She fluttered her eyes open briefly and let out a smile at him.

“Oh, my love,” Sigyn said hoarsely. 

“You cannot do this to me, Sigyn,” Loki ordered.

“My life for yours, my love,” Sigyn said softly. “Remember?” With that, she faded back into unconsciousness and Loki let out a screech.

“Rogers?” Fury said with a raised eyebrow. With a sigh, Steve walked over behind Barton and knocked him over the head with his shield, sending the man sprawling to the ground. Just as Barton hit the ground, the ship jolted slightly. “Hill?” Fury demanded into his comm.

“There’s at least twenty of those things still on the ship,” she replied. “The bulk of them seem to be going for the engines…”

“I’m on it,” Steve announced at the same time Stark’s voice said “Suiting up” over the comm. 

“I’m headed to the bridge,” Fury announced as the medical team began arriving in the room. He turned to Thor. “They’ll take her to the med bay. Your brother better not get loose.” 

Fury departed as the medical team began loading Sigyn onto the bed, trying to maneuver around Barton’s comatose form. The call went out for a second bed as Romanoff skid into the room. She walked over to Barton’s body and checked him over. Deciding he was fine, she looked up and took in the strange sight of Loki stroking his wife’s hair like a terrified child seeking comfort. Thor was doing his best to comfort his brother.

“She will be fine,” Thor insisted as they began hooking Sigyn up to something.

“What are they doing?” Loki hissed furiously. “Where are the healing stones?”

“They do not have those here,” Thor tried to explain as they began wheeling Sigyn toward the door.

“What kind of barbarians are they?” Loki fumed. “They will more likely kill her than help her.” The medical staff began trying to crowd Loki away from Sigyn’s stretcher and Loki seemed ready to fight them to get back to her.

“Come brother,” Thor insisted. “Let them do their work. We shall follow.” 

“I have done this,” Loki said mournfully. His face then contorted into something strange and sinister. “I will make them pay.” Thor looked at his brother uncertainly. He was concerned that before this was all over Loki would have a hospital bed to match his wife’s.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the end, the damage the creatures did to the engines of the helicarrier was nothing that the combined efforts of Iron Man and Captain America couldn’t fix. The downside was the focus on subduing the creatures allowed a small group and their leader to escape with the scepter. To make matters worse, the Tesseract seemed to have completely disappeared off the face of the earth, nearly leading Banner to lose it in his lab. As the smoke cleared, the Avengers gathered back at the medical bay.

As they arrived one by one, they found Loki standing up against the window looking into the private operating room where the best staff aboard the helicarrier were working furiously on Sigyn. He had his hands on the window and seemed to be muttering to himself, watching his wife. Loki had been rehandcuffed sometime between leaving his cell and arriving in the med bay. He didn’t seem to notice the chains around his hands, however.

Thor was pacing back and forth behind him while Coulson kept watch over both of the Odinsons. Natasha was sitting with Barton, who had just come to after being knocked over the head by Steve. There were a few more abducted agents they were still waiting to come to as well. None of the strange creatures had been taken alive, though it was doubtful any information could be extracted from them. However, scientists aboard the ship had put in at least two requests to dissect one before the battle was even over. When Tony and Steve arrived, dirty and tired from fixing the engines, the first thing Steve did was attempt to apologize to Barton for cold clocking him. Barton tried to assure him it was all fine. Tony focused on watching Loki, as if trying to figure out a puzzle. Banner arrived next, looking disheveled and distressed.

“The Tesseract is gone,” Banner admitted despairingly. “Those things… they did something to the computers or maybe they cloaked it. I don’t know. We can still try and head for the old coordinates, but it might be gone by the time we get there...”

“Did they get the scepter?” Steve asked, horrified.

“Yes,” Fury said, angrily storming into the room. He threw Loki up against the wall. “Did you plan this?” Thor reached out as if to defend his brother but Loki just snorted.

“Yes, I would invite them here to kill my wife before my eyes,” Loki spat. “They were to be my army! I was to control them! But because you were too simple minded to allow Sigyn to reverse the mind control spell, they were able to use that moment of weakness and find their own way through. They have the scepter. They have the Tesseract. They no longer have need of me. If your world falls now, it will not be of my doing but of your own.”

“Where is Selvig?” Fury demanded, shoving Loki against the wall again.

“You said you were bringing the agents back,” Thor said to his brother accusingly.

“And I did,” Loki replied.

“You said all of my agents, but Selvig didn’t come with them,” Fury responded angrily. “Selvig is one of those agents.”

“Really?” Loki smirked. “He told me he was a… what was it… oh, yes, an ‘independent contractor.’ He and the Tesseract were not part of this deal.” Fury let go of Loki and then began pacing the room in a fog of anger.

“Do you think you could latch onto it again?” Fury asked Banner.

“No,” Banner admitted as Loki turned back to the med bay window, whispering through it again. “They know how to hide it. If we could figure out a way to track the creatures themselves…”

“I don’t know what happened in that room,” Tony said, pointing to Loki, “but I think it’s his fault.”

“I think it’s more complicated than that,” Steve argued.

“Yeah, well no one’s paying you to think,” Tony shot back. 

“He was bringing us here to protect her,” Barton announced. “First it was to blow up the helicarrier…” The eyebrows of just about everyone in the room raised at that. “...but then everything shifted. Suddenly, he was telling us to get her off the ship by all means necessary. Get her somewhere safe… It was like… like he knew something or someone was coming to get him.”

“Then he knew this attack was happening,” Tony said.

“He couldn’t have,” Thor said, more trying to convince himself than anyone else. Tony wasn’t buying it. Still in his suit but with the face mask off, Tony stalked to Loki and then shot a slight blast at him, knocking Loki over somewhat. 

“Was that the game plan all along? What was it? A kamikaze mission? Get her off the ship and then do what?” Tony said to him threatening.

“She wasn’t supposed to be here!” Loki hissed back.

“While you did what?” Tony demanded.

“Tony!” Steve said, furiously. “Enough.”

“I’ve had about enough,” Tony replied, pointing one of his hand blasters as Loki’s face. “Did you know those things were coming? Is that why you were trying to get her to safety? Come on, Reindeer Games. Survey says...”

“A middling creature like you wouldn’t be able to understand,” Loki fumed. Tony scoffed.

“Yeah, will which one of us is a) in handcuffs and b) about to get his head blown off,” Tony snorted. Bruce took a bit more of a compassionate approach. He saw something in Loki’s eyes, as if there was a man struggling to reach out from beneath the raging beast. He knew that look well.

“What wouldn’t we understand?” Bruce asked calmly. “Explain.”

“Sigyn loves me,” Loki spat, his voice suddenly turning more calm and his eyes unfogging, seeming to almost plead with the doctor before him, “just as she is the only thing in the Nine Worlds I truly love.”

The image of Elizabeth Ross momentarily flashed through Bruce’s mind, but he quickly shook it away. He didn’t want to admit he felt something of a kinship to Loki at that moment, both seen as monsters, both willing to do anything for the woman they loved. Tony, for his part, lowered his hand. He had felt the same way about Pepper. He didn’t like how much of himself he saw in Loki’s eyes at that exact moment.

“Brother,” Thor said quietly, crouching down onto the floor where Loki said in a disheveled heap, “did you know those things were coming?”

“Chitauri,” Loki said. “They are called Chitauri.”

“Did you know?” Thor prompted.

“Yes, but no,” Loki said.

“He’s off his rocker,” Tony groaned.

“I was to bring them here, to Midgard,” Loki explained. “I was to lead them into glorious battle. They would be my army and they would make me king of this miserable planet. They needed me and the Tesseract to do so.” He glared up at Fury, his face contorting in anger. “But because of his foolishness they were able to manipulate Sigyn’s magic, to bring a small part of themselves here. They no longer have need of me. They can conquer this planet on their own now.”

“If they don’t need you, why didn’t they kill you?” Fury asked quietly. Loki glanced between all of the faces looking at him. 

“You are all such simple, dull creatures,” Loki shook his head. “What better way to torture a man, to utterly destroy him, than by taking from him the one thing he cherishes above all others? The one thing he could not live without?”

“You didn’t send for Sigyn because they would have destroyed her,” Thor surmised.

“Haven’t they?” Loki asked back before sinking into himself. 

Loki’s words had barely begun to settle when the head doctor emerged from the med bay, looking fairly nervous and not sure who to direct her attention to. She finally settled on Fury, though she had a feeling the man in the heap at her feet was more emotionally invested in her patient than any of the others.

“Status update?” Fury asked.

“The blade wound was mostly superficial,” the doctor replied. “Thankfully, it missed all the major arteries and organs. It may leave a nasty scar… That is…”

“If what?” Fury demanded. “Dr. Patel?”

“Director,” she sighed. “the blade was poisoned.”

“With what?” Natasha asked.

“No poison we know of,” the doctor answered. “It’s not in any SHIELD database and it seems to be fast working. Asgardians do seem to have a better ability to heal that the rest of us, which is why she’s still alive. If that blade had sliced into any mere mortal, they’d been dead instantly. However, Asgardians aren’t immune to whatever this is either.”

“Meaning?” Thor asked.

“If we can’t find out what this poison is and locate an antidote in fifteen minutes…” the doctor said. “There won’t be anything we can do.”

“The Chitauri are not of Asgard,” Thor said grimly. “Even if Asgard has any knowledge of this poison, there is no way to reach it without the Tesseract.”

“May I…” Loki began, drawing everyone’s attention to his position on the floor. He sounded somewhat human for the first time since he had been captured. “May I sit with her? If she is for the realm of the dead, I shan’t want her to leave this one alone.”

“Fine,” Fury sighed. 

“No funny business,” Stark added, wincing when everyone else looked at him in disgust for his badly timed joke. Thor helped Loki to his feet and they both began heading into the med bay. As they passed Coulson, Loki stopped and then turned to look at the man.

“You are the one they call the son of Coul,” Loki said to him.

“Most people just call me Phil,” he shrugged.

“You killed the beast that attacked my wife,” Loki said. Coulson merely nodded. Loki sized him up and down. “Your reward will be great and magnificent.” With that, Loki turned and followed the doctor into the med bay. 

The room went quiet for a moment as they watched Loki and Thor head into the med bay and then waited for them to be situated in Sigyn’s room. Banner and Stark were speaking quietly about any ways they could think of to determine the cause of poisoning and narrow down antidotes. Steve leaned back in his chair and then sat forward suddenly as a thought crossed his mind.

“Um…” Steve asked worriedly, “has anyone seen that magic snake Sigyn threw across the room during the fight?”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Frigga’s private garden was beautiful at this time of day, but then again it was always beautiful. The thing about the Realm Eternal was that it always had perfect weather. The temperature was always perfect, the flowers were always in bloom and though it never seemed to rain, the plant life on Asgard never seemed to need it. Sigyn had not experienced changes in weather or seasons much in her life. She had gone from her childhood in Niðavellir, an underground realm with only manufactured lighting, to the perfect world of Asgard. A few times she and her sisters had been indulged enough to visit their grandfather in Vanaheim and see the changing of the seasons - the leaves of fall and the snows of winter. Around Yuletide, Odin often relented and allowed a brief blanket of snow to fall on Asgard as part of the festivities. Sometimes Sigyn longed to see falling leaves or spitting snow from her rooms in Asgard, but this day she was contented with the perfection of Frigga’s garden.

She had grabbed one of her favorite volumes from the palace libraries and sneaked out here to read in peace. It was a story of old fairy tales - a book for children, really - but Sigyn had always enjoyed the stories of pretty maidens, brave warriors and the clever ways in which they fought their foes to reach the ultimate happy ending of each story. She was nestled in the shade of one of the thin birches planted throughout the garden, shady enough to allow for a cool place to sit in the afternoon heat but small enough that they did not take up the room Frigga wanted for her flowering plants. 

With a sudden jolt, Sigyn felt as though she was no longer alone in the garden. She closed her book slightly, but before she could call out to whoever else was there, a slight tickling sensation began on her side. Sigyn was able to set aside her book just as she found herself flipped over onto her back, a body astride her own. She didn’t need to look to know it was her husband, mercilessly tickling her and pinning her to the grass like he had back when they were children. Continuing to tickle her sides, he managed to pull a few laughs from her before leaning forward, a gleam in his eyes and stole a quick kiss from her. Sigyn allowed this, but then playfully shoved him off of her. She began picking out the bits of grass in her hair and then smoothed out her skirts as Loki picked up the book she had set aside.

“And what are you doing out here?” he asked of his wife.

“I was reading in peace,” she replied.

“I think you were avoiding someone,” Loki smirked.

“Oh?”

“It can’t be my mother, as this is her garden,” Loki mused. “And I know that you would never want to be without my sparkling personality for more than an instant.”

“And your modesty, of course,” Sigyn rolled her eyes.

“I’m assuming, then, this has something to do with one of your sisters?” Loki asked curiously.

“I just wanted some time alone,” Sigyn insisted, as Loki began messing around with the book he had picked up. 

“Ah, your fairy tales again?” Loki grinned at her. 

“We both loved this book as children,” Sigyn huffed, grabbing her book back from her husband, who had been flipping through it aimlessly. “Perhaps you don’t think it on par with all those volumes of the great literature of the Nine Realms you are translating or your texts of ancient arcana…”

“Come now, _lykyng_ ,” Loki smiled, “I am not trying to tease you.”

“Then at least give me some peace and quiet,” Sigyn huffed.

“Very well then,” Loki said, laying his head in Sigyn’s lap. “Read to me?”

“Alright,” Sigyn sighed. “Once upon a time…”

“How original,” Loki rolled his eyes.

“As I was saying,” Sigyn said, clearing her throat. “Once upon a time, there was a little girl who was sent through the wood to drive the cattle home from their field. However, she could not find the herd and, upon losing her way in the wood, instead came to a great hill. The hill had a great gate and she went in. Beyond the gate, there stood a table covered with all sorts of good to eat…”

“Because that certainly isn’t a trap,” Loki interjected.

“And also there was a great bed,” Sigyn continued, “and in the bed there lay a great snake. The snake said to the girl: ‘Sit down, if you so choose. Eat, if you so choose. Come lie down in the bed, if you so choose. But if you do not choose, then do not do so.’ So, the girl did nothing at all.”

“A wise choice,” Loki agreed.

“At last, the snake said: ‘There will be people coming now who will want you to dance with them, but do not go along with them,’” Sigyn said. “Straightaway, the people arrived. They tried to coax the girl to dance with them, but she would not. Then, the people began to eat and drink. As they did so, the girl left the hill and went home.”

“I’m sure she got an earful about the cows,” Loki smirked.

“Do you want me to keep reading or not?” Sigyn grimaced.

“Go ahead, my love,” Loki prompted, reaching up to stroke her cheek affectionately. Sigyn rolled her eyes at her husband but smiled in spite of herself.

“On the second day, the girl went back into the wood to look for the cattle again,” Sigyn continued. “Again, she could not find the cattle and again, she became lost in the wood. She again came to the same hill with the gate. She walked through the gate and found everything as it had been the first time: the well-spread table and the bed with the snake in it.”

“Yes, mere coincidence,” Loki scoffed.

“And the snake said to her as he had the day before: ‘Sit down, if you so choose. Eat, if you so choose. Come lie down in the bed, if you so choose. But if you do not choose, then do not do so. Now, a great many more people are coming who will want to dance with you, but do not go with them,’” Sigyn read. “The snake had scarcely concluded his speech when the great many people arrived. They began to dance and eat and drink, but the girl did not keep their company. Instead, she left the hill and went home.”

“Not very smart, is she?” Loki mused.

“You know I love this story,” Sigyn said, rather upset. “Could you at least shut your mouth long enough for me to finish it?” 

“Come now, sweetling,” Loki said, sitting up and taking the book from her. “Don’t be cross with me.” Sigyn crossed her arms and huffed. “Lay back,” Loki asked her kindly. “Let me finish the tale.”

Reluctantly, Sigyn found her and her husband’s positions reversed. Loki was now the one leaning up against the tree, book in hand, while she rested her head on his lap. He held the book out so they could both see the pages and began gently stroking his fingers through her blonde tresses as he began looking for the part in the text where she had left off. With a smile, he found where she had left off but twirled a lock of her hair around his fingers one more time before continuing on with the story.

“On the third day,” Loki read, “when she once more went into the wood, everything happened the same way it had on the first and the second day. The snake invited her to eat and drink, but this time, she did so and with such a hearty appetite. When she was finished eating, the snake asked her to lie down beside him in the bed, and the girl obeyed. Then, the snake said: ‘Put your arm around me.’ This, too, she did. ‘And now kiss me,’ the snake said, ‘but if you are afraid, put your apron between us.’ But the girl was not afraid and kissed the snake. As she did so, the snake turned into a marvelously handsome youth who was really a prince. He had been bewitched in the form of the snake by the dancing folk and their magic spells. Now delivered by the girl, he took her back to his palace where they lived happily ever after. The end.” Loki snapped the book close and set aside, looking down at his wife. 

“I have always loved that story,” Sigyn smiled up at him.

“And why is that, my love?” Loki asked her with a smile of his own. He already knew the answer - they both knew that - but sometimes he liked to hear it from her lips.

“Because it reminds me of you,” Sigyn replied, fiddling with her snake bangle. He grabbed her hand, bringing it up to his lips.

“And which am I, _lykyng_?” Loki asked curiously. “Am I the snake or am I the prince?”

“Silly man,” Sigyn said, sitting up to face him. “Didn’t you read the story? The snake and the prince have always been one and the same.” She leaned forward, presenting her husband with a kiss.

When Sigyn awoke, it was to a blinding light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fairytale Sigyn reads, The Girl and the Snake, is an actual Swedish fairytale.


	5. Chapter 4: Of Aesir Bondage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The madman often tells the truth. - Norse Proverb_

Nick Fury really didn’t want to send a team of his officers in search of a magical Asgardian snake. There was already too much going on between finding a place to dock and safely repair the engine, navigating toward the Tesseract and stopping the Chitauri before they unleashed whatever unholiness they had planned for the planet at large. So, a magic snake, even one that could take down Chitauri on its own, wasn’t exactly on the top of his priority list right then. However, after Cap had mentioned the missing snake, Tony Stark had become intrigued enough to get the footage from Loki’s cell and replay it for everyone who hadn’t been in the room - or those who had but were under mind control.

In the lobby of the med bay, Banner, Romanoff, and Barton gathered around behind the seat Stark had taken to play the footage on his phone screen. Cap was in the middle of the group, describing to the rest what was going on at the time. Coulson was keeping one ear on the conversation between the Avengers but his eyes focused on the room where Sigyn lay in her hospital bed. Loki was still muttering softly to his wife, making every promise to her he could think of so long as she came back to him. The beep of the monitors were his only response. Thor paced back and forth, occasionally exchanging glances with the medical staff. There was nothing anyone could do at that point, and Thor despised having an opponent like this poison who he could not grapple with. 

“Everything will be alright, my dove,” Loki whispered to Sigyn, holding her hand with one of his. As if offering her reassurance, he was absent-mindedly stroking the top of her hand with his thumb. “I promise. Just keep getting your rest. Norns know you probably need it.”

“The prognosis isn’t good,” Coulson whispered to Thor. “What do we do if… if she doesn’t pull through?”

“It might take all of us to subdue him,” Thor sighed. “I do not know much of seiðr, but what I do know is that emotions can affect it more than anything else. When channeled properly, they can be used to help exercise great control. However, if one allows their emotions to be in control over them, seiðr can turn quite dangerous on the user and anyone around her… or him. I daresay that the anguish this would cause my brother would manifest in his seiðr in such a way as none of us have ever seen.”

“Meaning?” Coulson prompted.

“The Chitauri might not have their chance to destroy Midgard,” Thor said. “My brother’s pain might unleash itself upon this world in terrible, frightful ways.”

“Perhaps I could read to you,” Loki continued to whisper to his wife. “Truthfully, I doubt there is any literature of worth on the whole of this planet, and even if there is, I doubt further it could be found aboard this vessel. However, I am sure someone could scrounge up something if compelled to do so.”

“Alternatively,” Thor admitted to Coulson after listening to his brother ramble on, “there is also a chance that the loss of his wife would drive Loki completely mad. In that case, I doubt he would be of any use to anyone for any purpose.”

“Once you get better and we get off this damned plane, we can even go to Vanaheim if you’d like,” Loki informed Sigyn sweetly. “I’ll even be cordial to your mother.” Yes, Thor decided, Loki was most likely already half mad at the thought Sigyn might not pull through.

Fury was continuing to pace outside the med bay when he thought he heard something at his feet. Looking down, the SHIELD director noticed the little green snake slithering into the medical bay. He had half a mind to pull out his gun and shoot the thing, but he thought better of destroying this magical pet of Sigyn’s, especially before SHIELD could learn more about it. No one but Fury seemed to see the snake slithering its way into Sigyn’s bed until one of the nurses noticed it on the floor and, in a panic, sent a tray of freshly cleaned medical instruments flying. 

Pandemonium started to break out in the medical bay as the snake was noticed. While most of the medical staff seemed intent on killing the thing, Thor seemed to be getting in their way. Fury found himself shouting out orders to his agents and the medical staff to let the snake do whatever it was up to. He soon found himself joining Coulson at the medical bay window just as the snake slithered up Sigyn’s hospital bed and under her gown, biting into the exact area of her side where the Chitauri blade had sunk into her. It seemed the day could get weirder than it already was.

As protective of his wife as Loki seemed to be, it struck both Fury and Coulson as a little odd that he didn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that a snake was biting his wife. If anything, Loki seemed rather pleased with the creature. He was talking to it. Fury stormed into the hospital room to see what was going on. Coulson was at his heels and the rest of the Avengers team followed, getting in the way of most of the medical staff at the door who were arguing with Thor that a snake shouldn’t be in the hospital room. Just as Fury entered, the snake was slithering up to Sigyn’s neck, wrapping itself around her throat.

“Thank you, Jormungand,” Loki said to it, stroking the snake once as it turned back into a piece of jewelry, this time a snake wrapped around her neck biting its own tail.

“What the hell is that?” Fury demanded.

“It appears to be a magic snake, sir,” Steve said before getting a glare from Fury.

“Where did Captain Sass come from?” Tony muttered to himself.

“Jormungand,” Loki said, as if this was the most normal thing that had ever happened. “A gift for my wife upon our wedding. Smithed by the dwarves with an infusion of magic purchased from the stores left behind by the Dark Elves. Very ancient stuff. He is her protector when she is in need… and I am otherwise occupied. She is very fond of him. One of my better presents, I think. Perhaps when this is all over I will see if I can acquire another similar pet.”

“Sigyn has enough pets, brother,” Thor groaned. “And she definitely does not need any more that bite. Or breathe fire.” 

“It’s not my fault that you and Fenrir do not get along,” Loki snorted.

“I was talking about her horse,” Thor grimaced.

“Then you should bring Kolr apples when you bring them for your own horse,” Loki said. Thor muttered something about spoiled brats.

“Sir,” Dr. Patel said to Fury in surprise, “the readings… there is no poison in her system… It’s like it was…”

“All sucked out,” Fury said, turning back to Loki.

“He will store it,” Loki said proudly. “Jormungand absorbs any poison he collects into his own. This will certainly make him more powerful than ever before. I would hate to be the one on the other end of his next bite. Surely, there will be no recovery.”

“Um, what exactly just happened?” Banner asked, going over to read the monitors in sheer disbelief.

“It’s a magic snake,” Steve said, as if this was the most believable thing he had encountered in the past few weeks.

“That’s what she said,” Tony snorted, raising a hand for a high five. 

Steve looked at it suspiciously so Tony offered it to Barton who actually returned the gesture, causing Natasha to pinch the bridge of her nose with her fingers and shake her head. Before anyone could make any chastisements, Sigyn awoke on her hospital bed with a gasp followed by sputtering coughs. The medical staff started to crowd toward them, but some sort of magical force was holding them back. Instead, Loki gently lifted up his wife’s head until she was breathing right again. Her eyes opened and she seemed to take a second to get her bearings before her hand reached out and stroked the side of her husband’s face.

“How are you feeling?” Loki asked her, rubbing the back of her hand as she kept it against his cheek.

“Better,” Sigyn smiled. Loki moved to fluff her pillows before allowing her to settle back into them.

“We need to check her vitals,” Dr. Patel announced. 

“Where are the healing stones?” Sigyn asked, confused.

“They do not have them here,” Thor said.’

“Primitive technology,” Loki hissed. “It’s a wonder it didn’t kill you.”

“It is all they have,” Sigyn insisted. “Allow them to examine me. Certainly some care is better than none at all. Wouldn’t you agree, husband?”

Reluctantly, Loki seemed to let down whatever invisible barrier he was using to protect his wife. However, he was not particularly pleased with the poking and prodding Sigyn was subjected to. Thor strode forth and clapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder to calm him, knowing full well that fighting against medical staff on Midgard didn’t end well. Sigyn at least seemed to take all of the doctor’s efforts in stride and asked a few rather intelligent questions. It seemed that she had some medical training or at least whatever the Asgardian equivalent was. Dr. Patel announced Sigyn was fine, but suggested she be kept under supervision for a little while longer in case there were any after effects.

“Good to have you back,” Fury admitted to her. He turned to the guards posted outside her room. “I want him escorted back to his cell.”

“I will not leave my wife!” Loki hissed.

“She’ll be fine without you,” Fury snorted.

“No she will not!” Loki said furiously, some of the equipment in the room starting to tremble in his ire. 

“Don’t I get a say?” Sigyn asked, annoyed. 

“They will return for her and you have proven your soldiers woefully unable to protect her,” Loki accused Fury, ignoring his wife.

“Like you protected her?” Fury snorted.

“Brother,” Thor said, keeping Loki from standing up and launching himself at Fury, “I will handle this.” Thor then turned to Fury. “He will do no harm here. He just seeks to protect her. I daresay allowing him to remain with her will distract him enough to prevent any mischief.”

“It’s his wife,” Steve agreed. “He should be with her.”

“Aw, Cap’s a romantic,” Tony snorted. “Gag me.”

“What am I supposed to do? Handcuff him to the hospital bed?” Fury snorted.

“A novel suggestion,” Sigyn smiled. 

Sitting up, she waved her arms and Loki found his hands no longer shackled together but instead shackled to the chair he was sitting in. The handcuffs, however, were not the SHIELD standard issue he had been wearing before. These looked ancient and had strange symbols on them. Loki yanked but was unable to remove them. A glowing spurt of green magic shot forth from his his unshackled hand, but it bounced off the shackle and instead hit him back in the face, seeming to send a burning sensation into his eyes.

“I thought you got rid of these!” Loki groaned, trying to rub the pain from his eyes. “I told you to get rid of them!”

“Why would I ever do that?” Sigyn snorted.

“You’re always tethering me to chairs or trees or yourself!” Loki fumed.

“So… are they like into bondage or something?” Tony whispered to Thor, who seemed confused at how Stark meant the term.

“We really don’t have time for this shit,” Fury said. “I want everyone in the briefing room. One minute.” Fury stormed out with Coulson at his heels. Loki continued to grumble.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you, by the way,” Tony said to Sigyn, “nice capture on your husband earlier.”

“I’ve had practice,” Sigyn replied. 

“So, what’s the deal with the antler helmet?” Tony asked Sigyn finally.

“Tony,” Steve said in a warning tone.

“The what?” Sigyn asked.

“You know, the weird protruding things on your husband’s helmet,” Tony explained. “What are they? Goat horns?” Sigyn let out a tired sigh.

“They are supposed to be snake fangs,” she admitted begrudgingly. “He purchased it in Niðavellir. I honestly think my brothers showed it to him as a joke, but he took a liking to it.”

“I take it you are not a fan,” Tony commented.

“I must admit, it has grown on me recently,” Sigyn sighed.

“I take it he likes snakes?” Tony said conversationally.

“Yes,” Sigyn admitted. “It’s a rather long story, though.”

“I would like to hear it later,” Tony said. “You know, when the specter of death isn’t hovering over all of us.”

“So help me Sigyn,” Loki growled, “you will release me from this bondage or…”

“He said bondage,” Tony giggled.

“Or what? You’ll scream like a small child?” Sigyn huffed at her husband. She turned to the rest of the Avengers but mainly focused on Thor. “Go to your meeting. I will deal with my husband’s pouting.”

“I do not pout, Sigyn,” Loki pouted.

“Of course not, dear.”  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the ship still on course for the Tesseract’s previously known location, the group decided to watch the videos of the attack on the ship to see if they could garner any new information about the Chitauri or their intentions before forming a plan of attack. Most of it was straightforward fighting and the Black Widow choking Chitauri to death with her thighs. The recording of what had happened on Loki’s cell ended for the third time, yet no one in the briefing room was able to glean any new information from it.

“So, I know this is probably totally inappropriate,” Tony said, “but why does your brother call his wife lichen?”

“Lichen?” Thor shook his head. “He is calling her _lykyng_.”

“Okay, so, what does that mean?” Tony asked.

“I don’t think it’s something that can be directly translated,” Thor admitted. “Literally, it means ‘the one whom I most delight in’ or ‘the one who pleases me the most.’ It is one of my brothers most preferred terms of endearment for his wife.”

“And that helps us find this thing how?” Fury grimaced.

“Just an observation,” Tony shrugged, popping a blueberry in his mouth. 

“Barton, you really don’t have any idea what he was planning?” Fury sighed.

“I told you,” Barton replied, “beyond getting the materials to build whatever machine it is Selvig was supposed to construct, the only instructions I had were as his personal security detail. Then to do the distraction on the ship and then to save his wife. I’m sure Selvig was given the details about where all this was supposed to be played out, where the Tesseract was going to be used but... “

“We don’t know where Selvig is,” Banner concluded.

“So, how are we going to get him to talk?” Steve asked.

“And not talk in riddles,” Tony agreed. “Listening to that guy is like hearing someone reading Mad Libs out loud. Emphasis on the mad.”

“Sigyn’s safety is his main concern,” Natasha pointed out.

“And?” Banner asked. Barton smirked, seeming to pick up where Natasha was going.

“It seems we and Loki have a common goal,” Barton said. “He wants Sigyn safe, but as long as the Chitauri are around she isn’t.”

“And the Chitauri that escaped with the scepter are intending to use the Tesseract to open a portal,” Banner nodded.

“A portal that will bring more Chitauri to rain down on earth,” Tony nodded.

“So, it’s in Loki’s best interest to track down the current Chitauri before they can bring more in,” Fury nodded. 

“And while those thing seem powerful, they don’t seem too bright,” Tony said. “I mean, they were relying on a guy who can’t tell the difference between snake fangs and goat horns for leadership. I doubt they’ve deviated from whatever plan Loki concocted originally.”

“He will tell us,” Thor agreed. “If not, Sigyn can probably make him in his current state.”

“Why didn’t she cuff him like that originally?” Fury said. “What’s she playing at?”

“He was originally restrained from using his magic,” Steve pointed out, “with that chain she wrapped around him. We brought him in wearing it, but you guys took it off. Said it was SHIELD protocol that he be in standard issue cuffs.”

“When all this is over, I am putting in a formal request to find out wherever the hell Sigyn gets her handcuffs and reoutfit this entire organization with them,” Fury said.

“I might like a pair myself,” Tony nodded. Everyone in the room shot him a confused look. “You know… Pepper might like them…”

“They’re dwarven made,” Thor explained. “I think one of Sigyn’s uncles is the head smith for the royal dungeons in Niðavellir. They’d be happy to help, I’m sure. Though don’t haggle on prices and don’t insult their craftsmanship. This is a mistake you do not make twice.”

“Sir,” Coulson said, “it might not be wise to interrogate Loki in the hospital room. Besides the fact that doing so in front of his wife would probably agitate him…”

“There’s a lot of sharp objects,” Fury agreed. “Barton, Romanoff you’re going to stay here and help me with the interrogation. Thor, you and Coulson will bring Loki here. Captain, Stark, Banner the three of you will be Sigyn’s security detail so he won’t have a reason to protest.”

“He will still protest,” Thor sighed.

“Get him to this room by any means necessary,” Fury ordered.

“Why do I have…” Banner began.

“You have medical expertise,” Fury interrupted. “Come on now. Time is of the essence.”

“I don’t think he’s going to tell us anything now,” Tony shook his head as they left the briefing room. “Sure, he loves his wife and all, but he’s been keeping this secret for long enough already.”

“I don’t know,” Steve argued, “seeing a direct attack on her like that… might be enough to change his mind.”

“He might not know anything or at least not be able to communicate it,” Banner pointed out. “I’m not a psychologist, but I’m pretty sure that guy has a case of bipolar disorder and probably full on dissociative identity disorder. And I know this sounds totally off the walls but the way he’s being loyal to the Chitauri - even over his own family - I mean, if I just read the behavioral description without knowing anything about the guy’s background I would think he’s got a case of Stockholm syndrome.”

“I have heard of Stockholm!” Thor said proudly. “It was called Agnafit in my father’s day. He told us many stories of glorious battle there when we were children.”

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say there won’t be many psychologists on Asgard you can refer Loki to,” Tony said to Bruce.

When they arrived in the medical bay, they found Loki arguing with the medical staff. The doctors had decided Sigyn was well enough to return to her normal rooms, but Loki believed that his wife should be on bed rest for at least another week following her incident. It was interesting to watch as Sigyn stood in the corner, arms crossed her chest, while Loki tried to intimidate the doctor from his sitting position, chained to the chair. Sigyn’s magical shackles had apparently not only made it to where Loki couldn’t use his own magic but he apparently couldn’t use his legs to get up from the chair either. 

“Sir,” Dr. Patel said, “if you continue to be aggressive, I am going to have to remove you from my med bay.”

“I’d like to see you try to get me out of this damned chair,” Loki hissed at her.

“Brother, we have need of you,” Thor called out. Loki glared up at him.

“Director Fury would like to ask your husband some questions,” Steve informed Sigyn diplomatically. “Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner and I will stay with you in the time being.”

“I’m sure there is no need…” Sigyn began.

“I’m not going with you,” Loki spat at his brother. “And I’m not leaving her.”

“We’ll keep her in this hospital room,” Stark offered. Loki sized him up and down, seeming to take some interest in his offer.

“I find myself incapable of leaving,” Loki bit out. 

“Please attempt to cooperate,” Sigyn sighed. “You have a chance to redeem yourself, husband. Just listen to what the Furious One has to say.” Coulson mentally noted that. He would be sharing it in the breakroom back at headquarters later.

“I owe that man no favors,” Loki hissed. “And I will not help him.”

“Not even for me?” Sigyn asked, batting her eyelashes. Loki watched his wife and sighed.

“I’m sorry, my dear,” Loki replied, “but as tempting as you are, I do not feel it is in your best interest for me to leave your presence nor to rely on these imbeciles to oversee your personal safety. They have already failed in that task once. I will not allow it to happen again.”

“Fine then,” Sigyn sighed, using her magic to release Loki from the chair. He could now stand but just as he did so, his unshackled hand was cuffed. 

“Thank you for your cooperation, ma’am,” Steve said as Thor and Coulson began tugging Loki along with them.

“Oh, you won’t be able to get much information out of him in that state,” Sigyn pointed out as Loki struggled against his brother and Coulson. 

“What would you propose?” Thor asked. Instead of responding, Sigyn sent her fist hurdling into her husband’s face. He was knocked out cold on the ground. Steve, Banner and Coulson’s jaws dropped. Thor rolled his eyes as if this had happened before. Tony started a slow clap.

“I’ve been debating whether or not to do that since Stuotengarten,” Sigyn admitted. 

“He’s going to be very cross with you when he comes to,” Thor said, slinging his brother’s limp body over his back like a sack of potatoes.

“Good,” Sigyn replied. “Maybe he’ll finally understand how angry I am with him.”  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Loki came back to his senses, he found both his hands cuffed together and then his left arm handcuffed to another chair in a different room. Thor and the son of Coul were sitting off to the side in the room while Fury was pacing back and forth in front of him. Barton was eyeing him suspiciously. Romanoff seemed to be sharpening something behind the desk she was sitting at. He eyed them all up quickly before they started to notice he was awake.

Fury was usually a cold and calculating man, but this entire mess with the Chitauri had obviously made him on edge and clouded his decision-making skills. Thor was his idiot sort-of-brother as usual and was the only one that might consider taking his side. The son of Coul had killed for Sigyn, and Loki begrudgingly had to admit he owed the man a debt. During his time under the mind stone’s power, all of Barton’s secrets had been revealed to him. Loki knew it all: Barton’s time with the circus and then as a criminal, the incident with Romanoff in Budapest, and the family on the farm in the Midwest. Perhaps the most painful, Loki had seen Barton's whole ugly falling out with his older brother, something that still haunted the archer in more than just the mental sense - which Loki felt an odd kinship with. But this was a time to hold his cards close to his chest. Of course, Sigyn would probably never forgive him if he did anything to harm Barton’s family, but Barton knowing that he knew about them would be threat enough. The hardest read in the room was probably Romanoff, though he had pieced together some things about her through his view into Barton’s mind. He leaned back in his chair, finally willing to allow them to know he was conscious.

“Your wife has a mean right hook,” Fury observed.

“Yes,” Loki agreed. “I believe she was holding back, though. Nothing feels broken.”

“She seems pretty capable of defending herself,” Fury said. “But you always act like she can’t.”

“Sigyn can protect herself, yes,” Loki agreed, “but I would rather my wife not be in a type of situation where she has to.”

“She’s been in danger since the moment you set foot on this planet,” Fury scoffed. “And you’re the one who put her there.”

“I think she’s been in danger longer than that,” Loki muttered.

“What makes you say that?” Fury asked. Loki glared at him silently, as if daring him to prod further with that line of questioning. “Look, we don’t have time for your shit,” Fury continued. “Once the Chitauri get their hands on the Tesseract there will be hell to pay. And once they realize that your wife isn’t as dead as they thought they left her, I think they’re going to come back to hunt the both of you down. You need our help. You need us to help you protect her if nothing else.”

“The second these cuffs are off I can be in full control of my seiðr again,” Loki snorted. “I think I can manage on my own.”

“What are you going to do?” Fury demanded to know. “Turn tail and run like the coward you are? You really think it would be that easy to leave the earth after all the trouble it took you to get here.”

“The Bifrost is still broken, brother,” Thor said, “and without the Tesseract there is no means of returning to Asgard or travel to any other realm.”

“That you know of,” Loki snorted. 

“I’ve had about enough of your ego,” Fury glowered at him.

“My ego?” Loki laughed. “I’m not the one on this ship with a giant monument to my own self-perceived glory and ambition piercing the heavens.”

“How do you know about Stark Tower?” Romanoff asked, her ears perking up.

“If you must know, it was part of my grand scheme,” Loki rolled his eyes. “What better way to showcase the great flaws and foibles of Midgardians than from the biggest monument to self-worship and excess on the entire measly planet? After all, the end of the world as you know it should be a performance and it should be played out on the largest, most grand stage one can find.”

“What were you planning on doing at Stark Tower?” Fury demanded to know.

“It was to be where Selvig unleashed the full force of the Tesseract, opening the portals to the worlds and allowing the Chitauri to come through,” Loki said. “I would lead them…”

“...into glorious battle,” Barton rolled his eyes. “We know.”

“Is there any chance they would still be following that plan?” Fury asked.

“Selvig has the Tesseract,” Loki admitted. “He’s had it all along, even when I didn’t know where he was. They would be fools to take it from him just so they could track down another astrophysicist with the ability to create such a portal. While the Chitauri could perhaps utilize its power on their homeworld, they would have no idea how to begin doing the same here on Midgard.”

“Is there a chance we could head them off?” Fury asked hopefully. “That we could get there before them and stop Selvig - or at least regain control of the Tesseract before they do?”

“Anything is possible, I suppose,” Loki shrugged, “though having the scepter would probably make finding Selvig much easier. I would say it would be best to prepare for the worst case scenario.”

“You know,” Romanoff muttered, “you’re being uncharacteristically helpful.”

“For some reason I feel more inclined to be helpful,” Loki said. “This trifling world holds little meaning to me now. The fate of your planet is now back in your hands. Whether it is destroyed or not is of little consequence to me.”

“I swore to protect Midgard, brother,” Thor said angrily. “You will not stand in the way of that vow, and deep down, I think you know that in order to save what you love you will have to work with us to protect this planet.”

“You would dare threaten my wife?” Loki hissed at his brother.

“I am not the one threatening her,” Thor shouted back at him. “You are the one that started all of this. The decisions you have made have brought us here to this point. You claim you want her out of danger, but you now have a chance to stop it. Yet you sit here and offer no aid to those who would help you.”

“I’m sorry that I don’t find the people who locked me up in a cage very trustworthy,” Loki snorted.

“A cage you could have gotten out of the whole time,” Barton pointed out.

“So you will not help us?” Thor sighed. Loki just glared back at him.

“If you won’t, she will,” Natasha smirked.

“Sigyn has taken an interest in the plight of this world,” Thor nodded.

“And we don’t need anything magical you can do if we have her,” Fury said.

“Perhaps teaching her everything she knows was a bad decision on your part,” Barton snorted. Fury, Natasha and Coulson looked at him. “Using mind control to see into someone else’s head can go both ways occasionally.”

“You wouldn’t dare ask her…” Loki began.

“I’m sure if I told her you were against the plan she would immediately want to be part of it,” Thor smirked. “She seems well enough, and I’m sure the fact that you do not wish for her to participate in the defense of Midgard would be all the encouragement she would need to agree.”

“It’s just unfair she always has to clean up your mistakes,” Barton said. “Though I suspect not uncommon.”

“You ingrate!” Loki spat at him.

“We are wasting our time here,” Fury snorted. “Just leave him.”

“And how could I help you, anyway?” Loki shouted. “My seiðr is bound. You confiscated my knives upon my entry into this ship. The Chitauri have made off with my staff…”

“All we want is information,” Fury replied.

“And I have given it to you,” Loki answered.

“There is something else you aren’t telling us,” Natasha shook her head. “Something you are holding back.”

“Maybe he won’t talk to us,” Barton smirked, “but he’d talk to her.”

“Think she’ll cooperate?” Fury asked.

“I don’t think she’ll have a choice,” Natasha replied.


	6. Chapter 5: The Mad Titan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> _Thou should never sleep in the arms of a sorceress, lest she lock thy limbs. - Norse Proverb_  
> 

Hacking into the security system on the SHIELD helicarrier was proving to be the smartest thing he had ever done. Tony Stark had to admit he had probably out-geniused himself on this one. He needed to remember to call Pepper and see if “out-geniused” was a word and if not, if he could trademark it. At any rate, Tony enjoyed the fact that he now had a video of Sigyn cold clocking her husband in the medical ward to watch over and over. It was even better than the one he had gotten of Sigyn throwing a chain at her husband and binding him up or the video that perfectly captured the look on Loki’s face when his attempt to use his magic to unbind his shackles shot back a painful spurt of magic into his eyes.

Unfortunately, no one else seemed to be getting much enjoyment out of the video. Cap was walking back and forth around the perimeter of the room, as if he expected something else to just fall out of the sky and start attacking them at any moment. Banner was pestering Sigyn to death with questions about Asgardian medicine and physiology and though she was very kind and polite in her answers, Tony could tell Sigyn thought the interrogation was a little strange. She also kept looking over toward the door to the hospital room every once in awhile, perhaps wondering when her husband would be returned to her. 

She had used her magical abilities to change from the hospital gown they had outfitted with into another green gown, this one different from what she had been wearing when she showed up in Stuttgart. Cap about choked on his tongue about the fact that she was changing in front of them - even if it was just magic and nothing inappropriate was visible. For his part, Tony wondered where this magical clothing was coming from. Either clothing could magically transport between Earth and Asgard without the aid of the Bifrost or some high end fashion designer was missing the most recent piece of their haute couture collection. Of course, where Sigyn and Loki acquired the clothing they used to magically dress themselves wasn’t on the top of Tony’s list of questions for the pair.

“As interesting as I’m sure Dr. Banner’s questions are,” Tony said, interrupting, “I have to ask, how do you seriously stay married to that guy and not want to kill him every second of every day?”

“I know you haven’t been privy to them,” Sigyn said, annoyed, “but my husband does have his redeeming qualities. There is more to him that you know.”

“Yeah, Thor said something about how you two got married,” Tony shrugged. “But that was like… what? Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth? You probably remember that Capsicle. You must of been in like what… the third grade?”

“Tony, I really don’t think this is the time…” Banner began.

“But seriously,” Tony asked. “What has the guy done for you lately?”

“Love isn’t based on what have you done for me lately,” Sigyn snorted. “Or is that what you think?”

“She’s got a point,” Banner agreed.

“My husband has need of me,” Sigyn said. “We vowed to be each others’ aid in times of need, to be a comfort in a time of pain and sorrow. To be a balm in times of suffering. You do not do things for those you love because you expect something in return. No, true love is when you do something for another and expect nothing from them in return.”

“But… you’re not going to let him...I dunno, destroy our planet or something?” Tony asked. Steve and Bruce suddenly became very interested in her answer.

“Technically, the protection of Midgard is Thor’s task, not mine,” Sigyn replied, “but I have found sometimes that I am the only one who can make my husband see reason when he is being unreasonable. I will do what I can to aid you. I know asking for leniency for my husband in exchange for my cooperation in helping your world would be too bold a thing for me to suggest. However, I hope that you can find some mercy in your hearts for him - not because he deserves your consideration but because I simply could not bear to be without him.”

“It must have been tough on you,” Steve said quietly. “Thinking he was dead.”

“It was the worst pain imaginable,” Sigyn nodded. “I have forgiven him for it, but I wonder if my heart will ever let me forget. When someone or something you love hurts you, there is a desire to smooth things over and make them alright. However, there is still that fear in the back of your mind that by letting them back in you will only hurt yourself again.”

“That’s… sadly beautiful,” Banner said. 

“Being a widow - even temporarily - tends to turn one into a philosopher,” Sigyn shrugged.

A door slammed and the four of them looked up to see Thor returning to the infirmary, an unconscious Loki slung over his shoulder in the same way he had exited. Fury and Coulson were right behind him with Romanoff and Barton behind them. No one in the small parade seemed particularly happy. Sigyn stood up and began wringing her hands, obviously upset by the image of her husband. Thor deposited Loki back into the chair he had occupied earlier and not as gently as Sigyn would have liked. 

“What did he say?” Cap asked.

“Things we could have already guessed,” Fury said. “He’s holding something back. I don’t think it’s safe for us to progress further until we know everything he does.”

“And how do you intend to get him to talk?” Tony snorted. “I’m guessing you’ve tried everything in your arsenal.”

“Thor said you can make him talk,” Fury said to Sigyn.

“I was surprised you didn’t ask me originally,” Sigyn admitted.

“You could have offered to help,” Fury said, bitterly.

“You seem to think that doing so would be easy,” Sigyn bit back at him. “You do not realize that this is a last resort. I can make him talk, yes, but it will exhaust much of my seiðr and could prove dangerous for him. Considering that he was just recently removed from the control of another…”

“We don’t have time for this,” Fury said harshly. “Can you do it or not?”

“What’s happening?” Loki asked, shaking his head as he woke.

“You don’t understand,” Sigyn shook her head. “I will have to temporarily remove his seiðr from his body completely.”

“How’s that different from what you’ve done already?” Cap asked.

“The fetters only prevent him from using his seiðr,” Sigyn said. “They do not take it from him. It is a simple method of fettering. Removing seiðr all together… that is much more advanced. Much more dangerous for both parties involved, but especially for the one who is having their seiðr taken from them.”

“How so?” Tony asked.

“Someone with little experience could kill him,” Sigyn said. “Taking someone’s seiðr, in a way, is like literally sucking away a part of their soul. The seiðr within is more closely tied to the body than even blood or bones.”

“But you’ve done this before, right?” Steve asked.

“More times than I would like to admit,” Sigyn sighed. “But I will not just do this thing because you command it of me. You may be in charge of this vessel, Furious One, but I am not of your world and I do not bow before you.”

“What do you want for it?” Fury asked.

“She wants mercy,” Tony smirked. “You want him to get off scot free for everything he’s done on earth.”

“No,” Sigyn shook her head. “I believe he deserves to be punished. I just want the idea of taking his life as that punishment taken off the table. I can survive as long as he does.”

“Sigyn, this is a fool’s bargain,” Loki huffed.

“You would know all about those,” Sigyn shot back.

“Why should we believe you?” Fury asked. “Your husband is the god of lies. I’d think he taught you more than a few tricks.”

“What choice do you have?” Sigyn asked. Fury paused for a beat and then sighed.

“Done,” Fury agreed. 

“Sir, shouldn’t be talk about this…” Romanoff began, but Fury held up a hand to silence her. Romanoff was not impressed.

“Alright,” Sigyn agreed tiredly, raising her hands toward her husband. His cuffs fell away, but Loki didn’t seem calmed by that fact.

“Sigyn… Sigyn, no,” Loki begged, holding his hands up toward his wife in surrender. “Please don’t do this…”

“I told you,” Sigyn said to him with tears brimming in her eyes. “I would do anything in my power to keep you alive.”

Loki continued to protest as Sigyn cast out her hand and gritted her teeth. A rush of glittering, green seiðr seemed to be ripped out of Loki’s body, straining out of his pores and creating what appeared to be a thick, silvery bangle on the table next to him. Intricately carved on the bangle appeared to be two intertwined snakes, confined in some sort of cage. Everyone but Thor was seemingly enthralled at seeing Loki’s magic being turned into a piece of fine jewelry. Thor had seen this before in the few times Odin had commanded Loki’s magic be temporarily fettered in punishment for some prank or trick. However, it was Sigyn’s gasp and brief faltering as the last of her husband’s magic was locked away that drew the group’s attention back to Loki.

The prince of Asgard had apparently been using the power of the staff and his own magic for more than mind control and attempted world domination. Without his powers, the carefully crafted visage he had laid over himself disappeared and in its wake was the shadow of a man. Steve was the first to react, stepping backward and averting his eyes so he could focus on trying not to vomit. Loki was even more malnourished than the men Steve and the Howling Commandos had come across in that godforsaken camp in Poland, starved to looking like skeletons and wandering around aimlessly as if no one had bothered to tell them their Nazi guards had fled in terror. Loki’s similar skeletal appearance brought back the sights, the sounds and even worse the smell of the dead and walking dead they had uncovered in that place. He and all of the Commandos had nightmares for weeks.

Bruce, with his medical training, and Fury, Clint and Natasha, with their field expertise, were able to better compartmentalize and analyze Loki’s appearance with a more clinic eye. Bruce noticed several burns, various deep lacerations from what seemed to be a wide variety of sharp objects. Various bruises and welts in different stages of healing also littered the visible parts of his body. Loki was also malnourished, though Bruce found it hard to tell if the missing patches of stringy hair were the result of his poor diet or the torment inflicted on him. Fury, Clint and Natasha instantly could tell they were looking at a torture victim. His ripped clothing was an indication that several of his wounds had been inflicted while he was clothed, though others seemed to indicate he had been divested of all apparel when he received him. There were deep marks around his wrist and neck. All three exchanged a look, guessing there were similar marks around his ankles, the result of being repeatedly bound in restraints that were too tight, designed to chafe. Natasha was able to tell based on a few of the bruises that various bones had been broken, and she harbored a guess they were broken and rebroken as part of whatever torture had been done. 

Thor, for his part, was furious. While he had delighted in besting his younger brother in competition since they were small, he had always maintained that no one was allowed to bully his brother but himself. This was far beyond childhood taunting and teenage shoving. This, in Thor’s mind, was an act of war on Asgard, brutally torturing one of its princes even if he was assumed dead and, in all likelihood, a little megalomaniacal. Even the Allfather, as cold as he could be to Loki at times, would not have stood for this. Thor was perhaps the only person other than Sigyn that noticed the slight bluish tint of Loki’s skin, dulled by the torture inflicted on him, or the two, the red eyes, and the slightly raised lines along his face. The Allfather was not here to keep intact the Aesir guise he had crafted to hide Loki’s true identity.

Tony felt just as sick as Capsicle looked. He, perhaps, knew more than anyone about carefully crafting a persona and image to prevent others from seeing the real damage inside. With all of the physical beatings it looked like Loki had taken, Tony had no doubt the guy had taken a mental walloping that was even worse. He had seen some tough things in his day, but this guy looked more dead than alive. Tony thought it was a physical anomaly that he had been up and walking around, let alone trying to take over the world, in such a state.

It was Sigyn’s sob that brought them all out of their mental assessments of Loki’s appearance and to the real question at hand.

“Who?” Sigyn begged her husband. “Who did this?” 

Loki was silent, as if mentally at war with himself over what he could and could not divulge. In the end, he seemed to tired to even hold the internal debate.

“He said he would kill you,” Loki said hoarsely, his voice sounding as though his throat had been burned from the inside out. “He said he would slowly and devastatingly destroy all that I loved while I was forced to watch if I did not do his bidding.”

“Who?” Fury prodded, but Loki continued on.

“And he said then he would not kill me,” Loki said. “He would make me relive every moment, every ounce of pain in my life again and again for the rest of my days.”

“Who, brother?” Thor demanded.

“The Mad Titan,” Loki wheezed. The majority of the group looked ready to push him for more information, but Bruce and Steve could at least see that Loki was in no condition - physical or mental - to be interrogated. Sigyn, for her part, barely seemed to be holding it together.

“He needs to be hooked up to an IV, possibly get a blood infusion. Do you guys on Asgard keep track of your blood types?” Bruce said. “He’ll need X-Rays or maybe a full body scan to see what all is broken and what we can do about it.”

“I don’t…” Loki began to protest as Sigyn wheeled the bed she had been using earlier toward her husband.

“I am fine,” Sigyn said. “We will take care of him here.” Loki again opened his mouth to protest, but in his weakened state there was not much he could do as Bruce, Thor, Steve and his wife pulled him up and deposited him on the hospital bed.

“Alright,” Fury agreed, “but I would prefer he be strapped down so he can’t go wandering anywhere. No one goes in or out of this hospital room without my approval.”

“I’ll get the doctor,” Tony said, wanting a way to get out of the room.

“This will not be quick to heal,” Thor observed. “Even were he on Asgard this would take time.”

“I will do what I can,” Sigyn nodded, moving toward where her husband’s head rested. “I know the rest of you have the Chitauri to deal with. I will care for him. Do what needs to be done.”

Fury exchanged glances with the remaining Avengers as Tony returned with the doctor. With a silent nod, they followed him out of the room. Thor was the last to leave, giving one last worried glance toward his brother before heading out. He had a feeling Sigyn had seen the signs of Loki’s condition upon first seeing him but had to find a way to get him to reveal his true state. While Loki was not a favorite of Asgard’s by far, he was still for all intents and purposes a prince of the realm. Thor wondered absently if this Mad Titan knew his actions against Loki were tantamount to declaring all out war on the Realm Eternal.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Mad Titan? Does that mean anything to you?” Fury asked Thor as they group began preparing to face the Chitauri.

“No,” Thor admitted, “but my father would know. I do not think this is any being of Asgard or Midgard.”

“It’s a wonder that none of that torture managed to kill him,” Bruce said.

“Yes… it is severe even for what an Asgardian can stand,” Thor admitted. “I would think we are dealing with a higher being here, something with deep, dark magic.”

“So, the entire time he was controlling our minds, his mind was being controlled,” Clint shook his head. “I mean, I still kinda want to punch him, but now I kinda feel like a dick for wanting to.” 

“I want to find out everything he knows,” Fury demanded.

“I think interrogating him too intensely in his current fragile state might do more harm than good,” Bruce warned. “He might dissociate completely or develop some sort of psychosis, not be able to tell what really happened from whatever nightmarish scenarios his head has conjured up as the result of the post traumatic stress.”

“We still need to know who this Mad Titan is, what he’s planning and why he needed Loki, the Tesseract and the Mind Stone involved,” Fury said. “We need to make sure Loki has told us everything they are planning.”

“We could have Sigyn ask him,” Natasha suggested. “Give her the questions, have her ask them. He would trust her more than any agent we could send in to speak with him.”

“I’m not exactly sure that’s wise,” Fury said.

“She does seem to be able to tell when he’s lying or not,” Steve said. “Of all of us, she’s got the best read on him.”

“It’s like Sigyn’s got some sort of internal lie detector but it only picks up Loki’s frequency,” Tony agreed. 

“With the amount of lies that guy tells, it might be a choice between picking up his and everyone else’s,” Natasha snorted.

“I think we’ve got bigger fish to fry right now,” Steve admitted. “That’s still the saying, right?”

“Alright, old man,” Tony sighed. “We’ll humor you. That’s what you’re supposed to do with the elderly, right?”

“I think it’s a bit more imperative that we take down the Chitauri at this point,” Steve said. “If the world no longer exists, any information we get out of Loki won’t be very useful.”

“And what if he’s holding something back from us?” Tony demanded.

“Look, we know the Chitauri are going to start their attack and soon,” Steve said. “We know where it’s likely happening. I think the safest bet would be to go with what we know instead of standing around here, panicking about all the what-ifs. You don’t interrogate prisoners in the middle of battle. You save that for afterward.”

“It is the better strategy,” Barton admitted. 

“Hey,” Tony asked, looking out the window. “Why are we in New York?”

“Because Loki’s original plan was to use Selvig and open the Tesseract just above Stark Tower,” Romanoff replied.

“Um… what?” Tony demanded to know. “Why am I just hearing about this?”

“It makes sense,” Steve shrugged. “It’s a big… building.”

“Loki said something about it being a monument to ‘self-perceived glory and ambition,’” Barton said.

“But why my tower?” Tony whined. “I mean, I get it. Loki's a full-tilt diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered… Son of a bitch. I hate when I answer my own questions.”

“Really,” Steve scoffed, “I would have thought you liked hearing the sound of your own voice.”

“Stark, you and Loki might have more in common than you realize,” Barton snorted.

“What?” Tony retorted. “Are you saying Loki and I are both sons of bitches?”

“What did you call my mother?” Thor demanded furiously, pointing Mjolnir in Tony’s face.

“I thought you said Loki was adopted,” Tony replied, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender. 

“Not the time, guys,” Steve grumbled.

“The jet is ready,” Fury said.

“Do I have to go?” Banner grumbled.

“We might need you, big guy,” Tony said, clapping him on the back. 

“Time to move out,” Steve sighed, slinging his shield over his shoulder. “Here’s hoping we’ve made good time.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loki had only put up a minimal fight against the medical staff of the helicarrier, possibly because that was all the fight he could put up. Dr. Patel and her staff had hooked him up to various monitors and were pumping various things through his system. It had been determined a blood transfusion was not possible because Loki’s blood couldn’t be typed to match any known existing human blood type. However, the medical staff found they weren’t alone in the second Asgardian they treated that day.

Frigga had instructed all of her handmaidens in the basic healing arts. Not many knew but before she caught the eye of the future king of Asgard, Frigga had wanted to become a healer in her native Vanaheim. Sigyn and her sister Nanna had particularly taken to healing lessons and had requested extra training in this field with Eir, the head of the palace infirmary. While Loki had spent his time reading up on spells and charms he could use to torment his tutors and the palace staff, Sigyn had studied how to use her magic for healing purposes. While she couldn’t exactly conjure a healing stone from Asgard, she could mimic its effects with certain spells. 

This wasn’t the first time Loki had been his wife’s patient. In fact, he preferred when she could serve as his personal nurse rather than having to seek out help from the palace infirmary. There was just something about his wife’s ministrations on his body that always made his pain lessen even more so than any other healer could accomplish. The determination in her eyes and the way she bit her lip when she was concentrating were also very alluring, though nothing was quite as tempting as how she had to lay hands on the various parts of his unclothed body in order for her healing magic to have maximum effect. Had it not been for the glowing gold seiðr emanating from Sigyn’s hands, the med staff aboard the helicarrier might have thought she was giving her husband some sort of tantric massage.

For his part, Loki wished he could better enjoy Sigyn’s healing works. The scepter had enabled him to amplify his seiðr so he could cloak himself not only in the guise of a perfectly healthy man but also as a natural painkiller. With it gone, he was again feeling every ache, pain, bruise and slice rendered into his body. The combination of Midgardian healing techniques and Sigyn’s skillful hands were dulling the sensations somewhat, but not nearly enough for him to focus on anything but the pain. It was a shame really. He hadn’t felt Sigyn’s handiwork on his body in far too long. She began moving her hand up his right thigh, trying not to cringe at the bone that was broken possibly in multiple pieces within.

“A little higher, perhaps?” Loki said, his bedraggled condition making his smirk look like it pained him. Sigyn smiled in spite of herself. At least this so-called Mad Titan hadn’t managed to kill her husband’s sense of humor, though the dullness in his eyes worried her immensely.

“When you are feeling better,” Sigyn replied.

“Oh, but it would make me feel better,” Loki insisted.

“But then what motivation would you have to listen to the healers and allow them to help you become well as quickly as possible?” Sigyn asked.

“I have no need of these Midgardian healers,” Loki huffed. “I only have need of you.”

“Yes, well, I have need of the healers here,” Sigyn said. “There is only so much I can do by seiðr alone. Their equipment might not be as advanced as Asgard’s, but it provides several things I cannot. And I will have you well again, husband.”

“Tell me, my dear,” Loki said. “Have you always had dimples? I feel like that is something I should have noticed before. Perhaps I forgot. Some things are hazy.”

“All of Freyja’s daughters have dimples,” Sigyn rolled her eyes at her husband's ridiculous attempts to flirt with her. “Even Var, though she smiles so infrequently that many have begun to doubt.”

“Ah, yes, Var the Solemn they call her,” Loki nodded.

“Well, that is one version of the name,” Sigyn grumbled.

“You know Fandral only began calling her that because she would not give in to his advances,” Loki pointed out.

“Yes, because she had seen what happened when Gersemi did on one of her rare visits to see us,” Sigyn rolled her eyes. 

“I will make Var laugh one day,” Loki said pridefully.

“I’m sure you shall, husband,” Sigyn smiled, moving to his other leg.

“I suppose your sisters hate me now,” Loki mused. “Well, the ones who didn’t already hate me at least.”

“They don’t hate you,” Sigyn shook her head.

“I would beg to differ,” Loki snorted. “The majority of them have always hated me.”

“No,” Sigyn insisted. “Hnoss, Gersemi, Sjofn, and Lofn are so busy with our mother that they probably give you no thoughts at all.”

“That is actually comforting,” Loki said sincerely.

“Idunn has always been suspicious of you and your intentions,” Sigyn admitted. “And she is not pleased with your actions. But you know her. The worst she will do is have Bragi write and recite some unflattering tale about you at the next court function.”

“And she’ll probably bring me the smallest piece of rosenmunnar or æblegrød or æbleflæsk or whatever monstrosity she’s cooked up from those orchards of hers,” Loki rolled his eyes. 

“And while Syn and Snotra aren’t exactly pleased with you at the moment, I’m sure they will forgive you in time,” Sigyn said. “They always have liked you.”

“Why in the Nine would you think that?” Loki scoffed.

“Because they used to cover for me when I would sneak out to see you before we were wed,” Sigyn smirked.

“I suppose I owe them more than I realized,” Loki grinned back.

“Nanna will probably feel sorry for you once she’s realized all you’ve been through,” Sigyn shrugged. “And Var is Var. Whether she likes you or not, you know not much in her attitude will change.”

“I suppose,” Loki agreed.

“Of course, you should perhaps be worrying more about how my brothers will react to your return rather than my sisters,” Sigyn pointed out. Loki let out a groan of agitation. “I suspect they will offer to forge you something very heavy and very painful to wear as punishment when we return to Asgard.”

“The Allfather will probably take them up on it,” Loki grimaced. 

“I am not exactly pleased with the Allfather either right now,” Sigyn said, “but I am more worried about you than I am angry at him right now.”

“I will be fine,” Loki rolled his eyes. “You said so yourself.” Sigyn removed her hands from his legs and the pulled her focus to his face. She smoothed back the hair that was falling all over his face and sticking to his neck in some places. It was so much thinner than she had ever seen it and the texture felt off. She supposed it hadn’t been washed in a while.

“Why didn’t you tell us what happened to you?” Sigyn asked. She thought for a moment. “It’s because you didn’t want to seem weak, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t want them to think I was weak,” Loki shook his head. “I didn’t want to cause you pain.”

“I was in pain long before seeing you like this,” Sigyn pointed out. Loki sighed, allowing Sigyn to focus her ministrations on his arms. She had now done his legs, his torso and his back. 

“When I have more time I will have to find a way to construct you a proper apology,” Loki said. “Perhaps something I have written down and rehearsed.”

“It might do me some good to hear an unrehearsed one in the time being,” Sigyn suggested.

“Where would you recommend I begin?” Loki asked.

“The beginning is usually a good place,” Sigyn snorted.

“Alright,” Loki sighed. “I am sorry that when Thor broke the Bifrost…”

“Oh, you think that was the beginning of the trouble you’ve caused?” Sigyn huffed.

“Well, how far back am I supposed to go?” Loki said angrily. “I’m sorry that Odin found me abandoned in a Jotun temple and…”

“Loki,” Sigyn chastised, “you know damn well what I mean. You give Odin too much credit, anyway.”

“Oh?” Loki snorted.

“Yes. You hold his sense of your worth in such high esteem and everything you do can always be blamed on him,” Sigyn replied. “Why, if he is to blame for every flaw and foible you possess, he must be the most powerful being in all the universe.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have married a woman with such a sharp tongue,” Loki muttered. “I should have found one that was completely agreeable with everything I said or suggested. Someone who never felt the need to chastise me and enjoyed reminding me how handsome I am.”

“The Allfather would never have allowed you to marry a mirror,” Sigyn replied. “Besides, you would have gotten bored very easily with a woman like that.” She moved down to his fingers, massaging each one with her seiðr circling around each digit. He was starting to get some feeling back in his legs. It seemed like a good sign.

“Honestly, at first I thought letting the Frost Giants into the palace would just be a good prank,” Loki shrugged. “I didn’t think they’d get past the guards. I just wanted to ruin Thor’s day. He’s always ruining my day, after all.”

“People were killed, Loki,” Sigyn pointed out. “This was not a harmless prank.”

“And yes, I could have done more to stop Thor from going to Jotunheim,” Loki admitted. “But he was treating me like… like I was one of the group. It had been a while since he did that. And I did send word to the Allfather we were leaving. And I told you. It isn’t my fault the old man was so damned slow in rescuing us…”

“Loki,” Sigyn cautioned.

“Honestly, I don’t really feel sorry for going to Jotunheim,” Loki continued. “I never would have found out… I never would have learned what a lie my entire life was without that.”

“Your entire life isn’t a lie,” Sigyn replied calmly.

“Isn’t it?” Loki gruffed.

“Are you saying that my love for you is a lie?” Sigyn asked, removing her hands from him completely. Loki sighed.

“Had you known I was a Frost Giant before we were wed…” Loki began.

“You told me as soon as you found out,” Sigyn pointed out. “And how did I react? Did I run screaming from the room?”

“No,” Loki admitted begrudgingly.

“As I recall, I was more worried about how you were taking the news,” Sigyn said. 

“We were already married,” Loki insisted. “If this had happened before…”

“I didn’t marry you because I thought you were Aesir,” Sigyn rolled her eyes. “I married you because I had fallen in love with you long before then. If you ask me, running away from your marriage vows just because you find out you are a Frost Giant is the height of stupidity.”

“You seem to forget that I am a monster,” Loki glowered at her.

“You are the one who believes that. Not me,” Sigyn replied. “And you don’t think I know how that feels? To be thought of as a monster?”

“No one could ever think you have an evil bone in your body,” Loki snorted.

“Really? Not all those people who call my sisters and me abominations or freaks because we are half Vanir, half dwarf?” Sigyn challenged. “All of those who thought we were something unholy? There was a reason our mother hid us, Loki. You know that. You know that without the acceptance of your mother and father the eight of us would have been outcasts.”

“Things have changed since then,” Loki pointed out. “People have seen you and your sisters for who you are, not for their misconceptions surrounding your origins.”

“And if you let them, others will see the same in you,” Sigyn said. “Perhaps, you will even see it in yourself.” Loki tensed slightly as Sigyn began working on his other arm and hand. The pair were silent for a few moments before he spoke again.

“I am sorry that I let my ego and my desire to be seen as Thor’s equal cloud my judgement,” Loki said. “I am sorry that I hid things from you, that I put you in a position to have to defend me when you had no knowledge of my true intentions. I am sorry that I put my ambition above my love for you, and that in my desire to punish Odin, I ultimately caused you a world of pain. And I am sorry for most of what has happened since then. I am not sorry for the things I did to protect you.”

“I suppose I can’t expect you to,” Sigyn sighed. “I don’t exactly want to apologize for the things I’ve done to protect you. Though, I do feel a little guilty for striking you - even if it was just to bring you back into your proper mind.”

“To tell the truth - as difficult as that can be for me - there is no possible way I can express the entirety of the sorrow and regret I feel for the pain I have caused you and the things I have put you through because of my behavior and my decisions,” Loki admitted. “I feel the same way about Frigga, as well. Neither of you deserved this. I even feel a little sorry for how I have treated Thor in the past and what pain I have caused him. When he landed on that ship and saw me, I saw the slightest flicker in his eyes. I suppose I still find it a little hard to believe, but he genuinely looked as though he had missed me.”

“Do not let anyone tell you he would never mourn you,” Sigyn agreed. “Your loss was hard on him. He didn’t show it outwardly as much as perhaps your mother or I, but I could tell. I think he was trying to be strong for us. Sometimes - even months after we thought you were gone - he would still look up when he heard a door open or footsteps approach in the hopes it was you.”

“I will remind him of that,” Loki smirked. “I will perhaps have to deliver an apology to his face as well. Of course, there are things I will tell him I am not sorry for. And I most certainly am not sorry for any pain that I caused Odin. Any moment of joy he ever caused in my life has now been tinged with his betrayal and deceit. I will not apologize to him, just as I will never forgive him for what he did.”

“In the future, I would advise you that most apologies do not include a list of what one is not sorry for,” Sigyn pointed out.

“I suppose,” Loki mused. “Oh, and I suppose since he is probably listening in on all of this, I am sorry that I turned Heimdall into a giant ice sculpture. It is rather humorous out of context, but it probably was not the wisest decision I’ve ever made.”

“I would put him on the list of those whose apology you should first write out and then rehearse,” Sigyn suggested. “I think it would also be best if you allowed me to read these apologies before you deliver them. Not everyone appreciates your acerbic wit.”

“Always looking out for me, Sigyn,” Loki smirked. “And forgiving me. Even when I least deserve it.”

“I hope you will do the same for me,” Sigyn replied.

“What do you mean?” he asked confused. Without a word, Sigyn laid her hands upon her husband’s forehead, using her seiðr to put him to sleep. With a sigh, she leaned forward and gently kissed his sleeping form on the lips.

“Forgive me, my love,” Sigyn said, “but there are things I must do.”


	7. Chapter 6: The Battle of New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his. - U.S. Gen. George S. Patton_

Tony Stark hoped that just this once he hadn’t invented something that would come back to bite him in the ass. He was sure if Fox News got a hold of this they would do some spin on how the clean, sustainable energy at Stark Tower was what had attracted aliens from outer space to take over the world. Honestly, this entire thing was already too much of a nightmare and Pepper probably wouldn’t appreciate having to defend Stark Industries’ clean energy practices amid the myriad of other questions that would be launched her way when this was all finished. 

When he arrived in the tower in his Iron Man suit, Tony was annoyed to find Selvig there already activating the device and holding the Tesseract. At least he seemed to have beat the Chitauri there. However, since Loki’s original plan and the plan the Chitauri were working on seemed to be one and the same, it didn’t really feel like much of a victory. When all this was over, he was watching the video of Sigyn punching her husband at least a hundred more times.

“Sir,” JARVIS informed him as he walked in, “I took off the arc reactor. The device is already self-sustained.”

“Shut it down, Dr. Selvig,” Tony ordered. He noticed the man’s eyes were still that strange blue color, same as the stone.

“It’s too late,” Selvig replied. “It can’t stop now. He wants to show us something. A new universe!” Had this new universe not been a portal to a battle with creepy aliens, Tony might have been more interested in Selvig’s accomplishment. 

“Okay,” Tony said, aiming his hand toward the device. 

He fired and heard some sort of crack. When the smoke cleared, the device was unharmed but Selvig had been pushed backward. Glass had also shattered out of the tower, which wasn’t good. If the Chitauri weren’t here already, they probably now knew the Avengers were on their way. Time had always been of the essence, but now Tony felt as though he had set the bomb countdown from minutes to seconds.

“The barrier is pure energy,” JARVIS announced. “It’s unbreachable. The Mark VII is not ready to be deployed.”

“Skip the spinning rims,” Tony said. “We’re on the clock.” 

Tony began taking off his suit, only to find the Chitauri leader in his penthouse, holding the scepter. He was surrounded by at least five others. Tony grimaced. It was too much to hope that the rest of the Chitauri delegation had been taken out sometime between now and when they had departed the helicarrier. Normally, this was usually the point where the villain engaged in some trivial banter, but the Chitauri didn’t seem like the banter type. It was too bad. Tony usually liked a good verbal sparring match. Instead, he casually headed to the penthouse bar. The Chitauri watched him as he seemed to be mixing a drink. Secretly, Tony used the bar to hide the honing device he was slipping on himself. 

Bored with what Tony was doing, the Chitauri leader marched over to him. Tony stood back, sipping his drink, wondering what was going to happen. The leader raised the scepter and Tony was sure he was going to hit him with it. Instead, the creature pointed it right toward the center of Tony’s chest. It hit the arc reactor, but nothing happened. The Chitauri leader began chittering to his fellow creatures and then attempted to get the scepter and arc reactor to interact again. Tony released what was happening and couldn’t help but smirk.

“Having some performance issues?” Tony grinned. 

The Chitauri leader didn’t seem to find this funny. Instead, he just picked Tony up and tossed him across the room. He then began stalking toward Stark, two of his cronies with the gun hands following him over. If the scepter couldn’t be used to bend Tony toward their will, the Chitauri seemed ready to take him out another way.

“JARVIS!” Tony called. “Any time now!” 

The Chitauri leader picked up by the throat, and the height difference had Tony dangling above the floor. He really hoped these things didn’t destroy his penthouse. Next thing he knew, he was being tossed out of the window and found himself free falling down the side of his own building. Luckily, he soon felt the Mark VII suit attaching to him as it flew out from the building, hot on his heels. Tony guessed there was no time to field test the new model like the present. While it may not have been the best idea, Tony flew back up to his penthouse because he wanted to show those outer space assholes he was still alive.

“Miss me?” he asked, before firing his blasters at the Chitauri leader, sending him sprawling back. 

Of course, it just happened to be at that exact moment an energy beam shot up from Stark Tower into the sky. A swirling vortex appeared and suddenly, some kind of hole was ripped out of the sky. Seemingly hundreds of Chitauri seemed to be coming through this rip, some driving what Tony could only consider flying chariots and wielding weapons he had never seen before. 

“Right,” Tony sighed. “The army.” 

Flying toward the portal, he tried to fire missiles at the portal in the hopes that enough fire power would discourage more Chitauri from coming through. Nothing happened and, if anything, only more of the creatures seemed to be arriving every second. The first group that had been summoned was now on the ground, sending expeditions ricocheting through the streets of New York City. Buildings were on fire and stone was crumbling from them onto the streets. At least back in his tower he might have access to more fire power. Tony flew back, several Chitauri on his heels.  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Stark, we’re on your three headed north east,” Black Widow said.

“What, did you stop for drive-thru?” Stark snorted.

“No,” Widow said, “but we did pick up a stowaway.”

“What?” Tony asked, hearing the argument taking place in the background.

“Does he know you are here?” Thor yelled at his sister-in-law.

“Do you honestly think I would be here if he knew I had any intention of accompanying you?” Sigyn snorted.

“You were supposed to stay and heal him,” Thor said, annoyed. 

The quinjet was entering the city’s airspace and looking for a good place to land when Sigyn had emerged out of the cargo hold. Somehow, she had teleported herself onto the ship after it left and then waited until it was too late for them to turn back to reveal herself. While Captain America and Hawkeye both thought that her magical talents would be of use to the team, Thor was less than impressed that she had come with them. The two had been bickering ever since Banner had accidentally discovered her on the ship and asked the group if they planned on using her as some sort of secret weapon. 

“I did all I could,” Sigyn said. “The healers there can handle whatever he needs. He will need rest now. And that is what I gave him.”

“Please tell me you did not place him under another sleeping enchantment,” Thor grumbled.

“Fine then,” Sigyn shrugged. “I won’t.”

“He is going to be furious when he wakes,” Thor groaned. “And you realize that if you are harmed in anyway he will hold me personally responsible.”

“It isn’t as though you knew,” Sigyn shrugged.

“If I had known you had any intention of coming, I would have had them seal you in his cell!” Thor thundered. “This is not where you should be!”

“This is exactly where I should be!” Sigyn yelled back. “I promised I would help protect this realm. I cannot do that from anywhere else.”

“And what of Loki?” Thor grimaced. “What if he wakes and finds you gone? What do you think will happen then?”

“He is not in possession of his seiðr,” Sigyn argued. “And even if he does manage to awaken, he will probably get lost searching that vessel for me before he even realizes I am gone. Hopefully, all of this will be handled by then.”

“So, when Goldilocks and Lightning McQueen are finished,” Tony said, interrupting the argument as his voice came over the comm, “swing up Park. I’m gonna lay ‘em out for you.”

As the quinjet headed deeper into the city, it was easy to see the destruction the Chitauri army had already caused out the windows. Police and soldiers were already swarming the streets as civilians rushed away from the chaos. Steve could pinpoint both Army and National Guardsmen among the ranks. Iron Man ripped through the sky, a trail of Chitauri following him toward Stark Tower. There were definitely more now than had managed to escape on the ship. It might be too late to stop the portal, but the Avengers were hopeful it wasn’t too late to stop the Chitauri.

As Iron Man guided the Chitauri on his tail past the quinjet, Black Widow fired at them with the machine gun. While she managed to take several out, he headed back toward the portal. Hawkeye, having already readied his bow, started searching for the best possible targets from the jet’s window. Unfortunately, the Chitauri leader at Stark Tower seemed to have caught sight of the quinjet. Scepter in his hands, he took a menacing stance as he faced the vessel. Hawkeye noticed him out the window, standing on some viewing deck.

“Nat?” he said.

“See him,” she responded. She fired several times at the leader, but was able to dodge the shots. He then raised the scepter at the jet and fired, taking out the wing. 

Soon, the pair found themselves trying to control the spinning jet as it began dropping out of the air. Cap had grabbed hold of one of the low hanging bars to keep from being tossed around while Banner was bracing himself in a corner. Thor was using Mjolnir as a grappling hook to hang on to the interior of the jet with one hand while hold Sigyn in the other, finally ceasing their bickering as the ship continued to fall. Widow and Hawkeye managed to navigate the quinjet away from the towering Manhattan skyscrapers into a crash landing at a plaza below Stark Tower, taking out a hot dog cart with them. 

“I think I’ll stay here…” Banner said, “until the nausea stops…” 

“Perhaps you should stay with him,” Cap said to Sigyn. “At least until he feels better.” Sigyn didn’t seem pleased, but nodded in agreement as the rest of the group exited the jet onto the streets of New York. 

“I’ll be fine,” Banner insisted once the pair were alone. “I just need… to sit for a spell.”

“Are you sure?” Sigyn asked him. “It might be best to make you well. Your friends may have need of you.”

“I’m sure,” Banner nodded, bending down and trying to keep his head between his knees. “I’m...uh… sorry about what happened to your husband, even if he isn’t exactly anyone’s favorite person right now.”

“Thank you for your sentiment,” Sigyn nodded.

“No one deserves to be treated like that,” Banner told her. “But I’m sure SHIELD’s doing the best they can. He’ll be well enough soon.”

“I hope,” Sigyn agreed.

Meanwhile, Thor had left for the top of Stark Tower to see if he and his hammer could serve as a match for the Chitauri leader. It was his hope that by getting the scepter away from the creature he could stop or reverse whatever the Tesseract was doing to open the portal. Heading out onto the street, Cap, Widow and Hawkeye heard a strange bellowing noise coming from the sky. A massive shadow crossed over the streets. As if the vast amounts of Chitauri weren’t enough, something new seemed to have entered from the portal. The Leviathan looked like some giant metallic eel. As if the sheer size of the thing wasn’t intimidating enough, more Chitauri soldiers began leaping from it and through the windows of the building it passed by. The blasts from energy rifles soon began echoing in these buildings, the same ones were many of those on the street had begun seeking shelter moments before. 

“Stark, are you seeing this?” Cap asked over the comms.

“I’m seeing,” Tony said, “still working on believing.” He muttered to himself as he passed Stark Tower again, this time seeing that a couple of letters had already fallen off in the chaos. That wouldn’t be cheap to fix. “Where’s Banner? Wasn’t he with you guys?”

“Landing was hard on his stomach,” Cap replied. “Sigyn is with him.”

“Keep me posted,” Iron Man said. “JARVIS, find me a soft spot.” 

As Iron Man tried to get level with the Leviathan, Cap noticed explosions coming from the street below the bridge where he, Widow and Hawkeye were standing. The pair seemed to be noticing this as well. The Chitauri leader was on one of the chariots with the scepter, leading a roving band of soldiers along the street. Apparently, Thor hadn’t gotten to the tower in enough time to head him off. Energy beams were blasting cars into bits and then sending them hurtling towards those who were trying to flee. 

“Those people are fish in a barrel down there,” Cap said. He turned back to see dozens of Chitauri landing on the cabs feet from where the three of them were sitting. 

“We got this,” Widow said to him. “It’s good. Go.”

“Think you can hold them off?” Cap asked worriedly. 

“Captain,” Hawkeye smirked, selecting an arrow, “it would be my genuine pleasure.”

Captain America jumped off the bridge as Hawkeye fired his first arrow, which then exploded in the face of the Chitauri nearest to them. Widow began firing off her guns, hitting the ones he had missed. Rather than looking back, Cap focused on the task ahead, racing down the plaza and hurdling over cars as fast as he could. The Chitauri around them taken care of momentarily, Hawkeye moved to help a group of civilians exit a trapped bus while Widow covered his back, firing at the arriving Chitauri. When the bus was cleared, he began stringing arrow after arrow in his bow.

“Just like Budapest all over again,” Widow groaned.

“You and I remember Budapest very differently,” he replied. 

Meanwhile, Cap found himself facing two police officers who seemed to be arguing over their next move. The sound of Cap’s boots on the cab next to them drew both men’s attention. Their eyes both widened and their jaws slackened upon seeing him. Cap could only imagine what they were thinking about the guy in the strange suit who had just landed in front of them. Then again, strangers things had happened in New York. Possibly.

“I need men in these buildings,” Cap ordered. “There are people inside that can run into the line of fire. You take them through the basement or through the subway. You keep them off the streets. I need a perimeter as far back as 39th.”

“Why the hell should I take orders from you?” the police sergeant asked skeptically.

Before he could respond, a blast of energy was shot at him just as a pair of Chitauri landed on both of his sides. Cap managed to block the blast with his shield before easily knocking both soldiers down. He didn’t need to reiterate his commands to the officer. He heard the sergeant repeating them over his walkie. The deed done, Cap headed back to the group.

For his part, Iron Man had finally managed to get the attention of the Leviathan but firing multiple rockets into its face. The beast seemed even less pleased than before, letting out an intimidating roar and turning around to face the man in the flying red suit.

“We got his attention,” he said to JARVIS as he began flying away, the creature following him. “What the hell is step two?”

Back on the street, Thor had managed to join Cap, Widow and Hawkeye in battling the soldiers. Using his lightning, he helped even out the numbers. It was a temporary fix. The numbers of Chitauri seemed to be growing and growing at each second even though there didn’t seem to be as many coming out of the portal as there had been originally.

“What’s the story upstairs?” Cap asked Thor.

“The powers surrounding the cube are impenetrable,” Thor said, annoyed. 

“Thor is right,” Iron Man said over the comm. “We gotta deal with these guys first.”

“How do we do this?” Widow asked.

“As a team,” Cap replied. “They’re going to keep this fight focused on us, and that’s what we need. The leader at least seems to be stopping them from running wild. We got Stark up top, he’s gonna need us…” Cap stopped in mid speech, seeing Banner coming toward them.

“So, this all seems horrible,” Banner said, looking around the city.

“I’ve seen worse,” Widow smiled at him. 

“Sorry,” Banner said sheepishly.

“No,” Widow shook her head. “We could use a little worse.”

“Where is Sigyn?” Thor asked suddenly.

“I was feeling better… so she told me I should join you guys… gave me a nice little pep talk, actually,” Banner said, still slightly confused as to why Sigyn had been so polite.

“But where is she?” Thor demanded.

“She said she was staying behind in the jet in case…” Banner began. Thor let out an annoyed groan.

“She never stays behind,” Thor grumbled. “I can only guess what she is doing now. We are not to tell my brother of this. Hopefully, she is right and he will not awaken until this is all over. I do not care to see how he would react to learning she is out on the streets at such a time.”

“Stark?” Cap said over the comm. “He’s back.”

“Banner?” Stark grinned. “Tell him to suit up. I’m bringing the party to you.” The trail of the Iron Man suit soon came into view, followed by the furious Leviathan. The Avengers on the ground braced for whatever was about to happen.

“I… I don’t see how that’s a party,” Widow sighed as the Leviathan continued barreling down the street, slowly catching up to Iron Man. Banner, for his part, began walking toward the creature.

“Dr. Banner,” Cap called after him, “now might be a really good time for you to get angry.”

“That’s my secret, Captain,” Banner smiled in spite of himself. “I’m always angry.” 

Morphing into the Hulk, he sent a fist straight into the face of the Leviathan. As the creature began to flip and slow, Iron Man shot out a rocket into a soft spot on the creature’s stomach. The creature seemed blown completely to pieces as shards of metal caught fire and began raining down on the pavement below. Cap raised his shield to block some of the heavier pieces coming down. The group began to circle up, ready to take down the rest of the Chitauri now that the biggest threat seemed to have been smashed. 

“Have you see Sigyn?” Thor asked Stark hopefully.

“I thought she was with you,” Stark replied. 

“Nay,” Thor grimaced. “She abandoned Banner.”

“Well, someone better find her,” Stark grumbled. “If something happens to her, I have a feeling your brother will kill us. Painfully. And I’m too rich and handsome to die that way.”

“I’m sure Loki won’t find out until all this is over,” Thor insisted.

“I won’t find out what, brother?” Loki’s voice echoed. The group turned in the direction and watched Loki emerging from an alleyway.

He looked as though he had completely healed up and was wearing the same battle armor he had on in Stuttgart. However, instead of the scepter in his hand he was wielding the staff Thor had known his brother to carry before his fall from Asgard. Knowing Loki, throwing knives were probably stashed all over his body as well in case he needed something more personal to wound with. While Thor seemed somewhat pleased to see his brother well and prepared for battle, the rest of the Avengers were not as happy.

“I see Sigyn’s healing magic has helped you immensely,” Thor said, a trace of a smile on his face.

“No,” Loki admitted. “This is another illusion.”

“She bound your magic,” Iron Man said, annoyed, rising his blaster in case Loki needed to be taken out.

“Funny thing, that,” Loki said, pulling up his sleeve to reveal the cuff Sigyn had created. “My dear wife can be a bit scatterbrained at times. When she decided to knock me unconscious and follow your ragtag band of misfits into battle, she forgot the cuff behind. While it may remove my magic from my body, I can still utilize it when I wear the cuff. Thankfully, not all of the effects of the scepter have yet worn off. I can still appear threatening, and I am sure at least that will be enough to set the enemy on edge.”

“I’m surprised her sleeping charm wore off so quickly,” Thor said.

“It didn’t,” Loki admitted. “One of your Midgardian healers gave me an injection to combat malnutrition. It just happened to have the proper ingredients to reverse a sleeping spell within it.” 

“You’re here to help us,” Cap said hopefully.

“I am here to find my wife,” Loki corrected. “If helping you accomplishes that, it is just a coincidence.”

‘We do not know where she has gone,” Thor admitted. “She was to stay behind with Banner…”

“But she somehow convinced him to leave so she could sneak away unnoticed,” Loki said, annoyed.

“I take it this has happened before?” Hawkeye said, surprised.

“Nothing makes Sigyn run into danger faster than my brother telling her she shouldn’t,” Thor pointed out.

“I am not to blame for this,” Loki hissed. “You knew she might do this. You should have done something to stop her. Where is the doctor? I shall interrogate him myself!”

“Um… here he is,” Iron Man said, pointing to the green goliath behind him.

Loki seemed to notice the Hulk for the first time and his eyes widened a little bit in surprise. As he gazed upon the creature, it was obvious to the group that he was actually pretty intimidated by the colossus before him. The debate over where Sigyn might be was cut short as another painful roar echoed from above them. While the flow of Chitauri seemed to be ebbing before, the soldiers were arriving again in full force. At least three more Leviathans also emerged from the hole. Perhaps the most disconcerting thought was that this wasn’t the last of the Chitauri that might emerge from the portal.

“Guys,” Widow said, drawing their attention.

“Call it, Cap,” Iron Man said. 

“Alright, listen up,” Cap commanded, “until we can close that portal up there, we’re gonna focus on containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash.”

“Wanna give me a lift?” Hawkeye smirked.

“Right,” Iron Man said, grabbing him. “Better clench up, Legolas.” The pair bolted toward the sky. 

“Thor, you’ve gotta try and bottleneck that portal,” Cap continued. “Slow them down. You’ve got the lighting, Light the bastards up.” Thor launched himself upwards as well as Cap turned to Widow. “You and me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here.”

“And what would you have me do?” Loki asked, a bit annoyed that he hadn’t yet been given instructions.

“You’re staying here where we can keep an eye on you,” Cap replied. “And Hulk?” The green behemoth looked at him expectantly. “Smash!” 

With a grin, the creature bounded off, clinging to the nearest building and taking out as many of the Chitauri soldiers as he could along the way. It reminded Steve a little of the monkeys he had seen at the Central Park Zoo as a kid, except the monkeys probably didn’t have the ability to rip aliens in half or toss them one-handed from the top of a skyscraper. The Hulk soon began knocking flying chariots out of the sky, something akin to King Kong. Cap briefly wondered if anyone else would get the reference.

Meanwhile, Thor had turned the Empire State Building into his own personal lightning rod. Using Mjolnir to channel the currents, he did his best to strike towards the portal, sending shockwaves out into the air. A good many of the Chitauri soldiers found themselves blasted with electricity the second they exited the portal, being blasted back. Others convulsed as they fell toward the ground, dropping like flies. He managed to also hit one of the two Leviathans, sending shocks through its body and starting small fires in various places. The Leviathan ultimately hit the ground, skidding to a halt as the light within it seemed to die. 

Up on the roof, Hawkeye was sending arrows in a seamless flow in all directions, not even bothering to check if his targets hit their mark. They always did anyway. While dispatching his arrows into the Chitauri assembling around him, he kept an eye on the sky. Releasing an arrow over his back, he blew up one of the flying chariots before noticing that Iron Man had company - a great deal of it.

“Stark, you’ve got a lot of strings sticking to your tail,” Hawkeye said.

“Just try and keep them off the streets,” Iron Man replied. 

“Well, they can’t bank worth a damn,” Hawkeye mused. “Find a tight corner.”

“I will roger that,” Iron Man agreed. 

On Hawkeye’s suggestion, Iron Man began banking right toward as many tight corners between the concrete jungle of Manhattan as he could. While the Chitauri were forced to focus on navigating their flying chariots, Hawkeye was able to let fly exploding arrows to hit them. As Iron Man led then under tunnels and through parking garages, the drivers found themselves forced to decide within a split second if they should focus on navigation or not getting hit by the spray of explosive arrows raining down on them. Ultimately, neither decision was a good one. By the time Iron Man got a chance to look back at his following, he found that none of the Chitauri on his tail remained. 

“Nice call,” Iron Man smirked. “What else you go.”

“Well, Thor’s taking on a squadron down on 6th,” Hawkeye replied over the comm.

“And he didn’t invite me?” Tony sighed. 

As Iron Man flew off, he didn’t notice the Leviathan that had caught sight of him. Fortunately, the Hulk crashed through the windows of a bank building and onto the creature’s back before it knew what had happened. Attacking the creature’s jaw, it sailed through the streets of Manhattan. Soon, the Hulk found Thor had leapt from somewhere onto the creature’s back as well. The combination of the Hulk’s sheer force and Thor’s lightning was enough to derail the creature, sending in downward until it crash landed through the front door of the New York Museum of Natural History.  
On the streets below, the unlikely trio of Captain America, Black Widow and Loki were working to tackle the Chitauri on the ground. It actually managed to surprise Widow and Cap that Loki was a decent fighter. He seemed to be using his magic sparingly, instead focusing on his throwing knives. He had fairly good aim, though not enough to give Hawkeye a run for his money. It seemed that Loki could fairly easily take down several Chitauri at a time, and Cap deduced that Sigyn’s presence is why he had been so unhelpful earlier in the helicarrier. Without his wife being in imminent mortal danger right in front of his face to distract him, Loki could instead focus on taking out the enemy. 

As Cap slung his shield, bouncing it off three Chitauri and taking them out one by one, he failed to notice another creeping up behind him. When something whizzed by his head, Cap initially thought that Loki had thrown the knife at him, only to catch sight of the Chitauri behind him falling down, the blade sticking from his head. Wordlessly, walked behind him and retrieved the knife. 

“Thanks,” Cap said to him. Loki made no response, and they soon found themselves facing another swarm of Chitauri.

“We cannot hold them forever, so long as the portal is open,” Loki pointed out.

“Well, whose fault is that?” Widow snorted. 

“Our biggest guns couldn’t touch that portal,” Cap pointed out.

“You don’t need those,” Loki huffed. 

“And what would you propose?” Widow asked as she leapt upon a Chitauri and began to strangle him between her thighs. 

“We need the scepter,” Loki replied.

“I’m not falling for that again,” Widow snorted.

“The scepter has the ability to unleash the power of the Tesseract,” Loki argued, sending knives toward a couple of Chitauri racing toward them. “It has the power to contain it as well.”

“What makes you think that?” Cap demanded to know.

“Your Selvig is a brilliant man - for a Midgardian,” Loki shrugged. “I’m sure he would have been able to work out someway to reverse his creation, even if under the scepters control.”

“That is if the Chitauri haven’t killed him yet,” Widow said.

“They are not in charge anymore,” Loki shook his head.

“What do you mean?” Cap said, bashing a few heads in. “They seem pretty in control right now.”

“No,” Loki shook his head. “When I awoke from my wife’s spell, I felt a presence on Midgard, a presence I did not wish to feel every again. The Other is here.”

“The who?” Cap asked.

“He is the emissary of the Mad Titan,” Loki said. “I assume he has been given control of the Chitauri in my place. The creatures are decent at destruction, but they have no sense of strategy. They need leadership, and The Other will ensure they are the most devastating force your world as ever encountered.”

“And why didn’t you tell us this before?” Cap bit out.

“Because I had hoped against hope I was wrong,” Loki replied. “His presence has only grown stronger since I arrived in the city.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Widow announced, gesturing to the flying chariots zooming above them.

“What?” Loki said, furious.

“You’re not allowed to be alone,” Widow shot back at him.

“You wanna get up there, you’re gonna need a ride,” Cap said to her.

“I got a ride,” she said. “I could use a lift though.” 

“You sure about this?” Cap asked.

“Yeah,” she said with a small smile. “It’s gonna be fun.”

Obligingly, Cap readied his shield as Widow raced toward him, leaping forward and onto the shield. He boosted her as she jumped onto one of the passing chariots. She sunk her knives into the back of the driver, using them to steer back toward Stark Tower. The chariots were a lot more sensitive to drive than she had realized before, and it was difficult to catch her bearings at first. Along her side, she noticed Iron Man shooting the riders attempting to following her before zooming back down onto the ground, where Loki and Cap were fighting off the soldiers there. Cap reflected a beam from the Iron Man suit onto a few as Loki sank some of his daggers into the back of a soldier creeping up behind Iron Man. Several military humvees had finally arrived to help even things up, firing and hitting the flying Chitauri. While the fighting on the street seemed to be lessening, it was obvious that there were other things afoot.

“Captain,” Hawkeye said over the comm, “the bank on 42nd past Madison. They caught up a lot of civilians in there.”

“We’re on it,” Cap replied. 

“Pardon me?” Loki said, surprised.

The pair headed up to the bank, each with their own ideas on how to take on the situation. As Loki was preparing to quietly inch his way into the building and take the Chitauri by surprise, Captain America just jumped through the window and started throwing his shield around. Loki grimaced, thinking about how similar this was to all the times Thor had thwarted his attempt at a stealthy approach. While the Captain was busy bashing in heads, Loki noticed the small bomb the beasts had sent.

“Everyone clear out!” Cap ordered as Loki stepped toward the bomb. “What are you…” Cap asked, trying to fight off the Chitauri soldier who had just ripped of his helmet.

Begrudgingly, Loki used his staff to stop the bomb. He had wanted to save what magic energy he could harness through the cuff for when he had to face The Other or in case Sigyn was in danger. However, he knew the Captain would not let them leave if there was a bomb threatening the life of Midgardians. Startled that the bomb hadn’t exploded, the Chitauri proved easy targets for the Captain. His cowl was now gone, lost in the debris and rubble around them. The pair were able to head out of the building behind the civilians as if nothing had happened.

Cap looked around as the exited onto the street. Cars were demolished and large, twisted pieces of metal lay strewn about the road alongside thick bricks and portions of bus stops, traffic lights, trash cans and other small pieces of urban life. It reminded him of London during the Blitz, though London definitely had less aliens. The civilians from the bank were looking back toward them as fire officials began guiding them toward safety. Steve thought he recognized the waitress from the cafe he had gotten coffee at only a few days before. Was it only a few days before? It seemed like a lifetime ago. 

“Alright,” Loki said as the pair stopped to catch their breath for a moment. “We’ve fought your way. How about now we find my wife?”


	8. Chapter 7: Victory Bringer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving oneself, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance. - Oscar Wilde_

Sigyn only felt slightly guilty that she had promised Banner she would remain behind in the damaged quinjet in case the rest of them needed medical aid. It had been her intention all along to sneak out behind the Avengers once they landed. Originally, she had planned on remaining hidden until they had exited the vessel and then going out into the city herself to see if she could put a stop to the machinations her husband had put in motion. When Thor had discovered her, she had to improvise a little. She also had to quash that little voice in the back of her head that kept saying this was a terrible idea, especially since the first and easiest step to her plan had already gone awry.

Exiting the quinjet, Sigyn looked around to survey the damage already being done to the city. She was concerned that the Chitauri might remember her from the helicarrier, even though the creatures didn’t seem very intelligent. With her seiðr, Sigyn donned her helmet, which hid her golden locks from view. Next, she replaced the long, flowing green dress she had been wearing with something a bit more fit for battle. The green leathers around her legs and arms took care of the places that the dark bronze metal did not cover. She had her father design her something similar to the armor Sif wore, allowing her legs to be free of confines and able to move as needed. She had metal plates covering her knees as well as a moveable skirt of metal plates that reached the very top of her thighs. The breastplate did more to conceal her femininity then advertise it, going up to form a collar around her neck. 

While the plate ended at the tops of her shoulders, she had arm plates going down to the edge of her wrists. Gloves protected her hands but still allowed her to cast her seiðr or reach for Jor if need be. She also had very thick, armored leather boots that had originally been intended as part of the ensemble. However, her husband had acquired a set of Elven boots on his travels and as they proved good for riding or hunting in the forests after the spring rains, she decided they were good enough to wear in the heat of battle, typically leaving her clunky armored boots behind.

While Loki had known that there was a chance his wife might have to one day defend herself, he wasn’t pleased with the fact she had commissioned battle armor from her father. When the armor was completed, Sigyn had thought the styling and small details her father had carved into its exterior were beautiful. They were sharp but still someone indicative of Sigyn’s personality. When she had tried on the pieces for the first time, she noticed that the outer details were not the only ones her father had done meticulously. With a glint in his eye, Iwaldi informed his younger daughter that her husband had carefully researched the runes and enchantments that would best protect her in battle. He had then guided his father-in-law in carving them into the interior of the armor, hoping this would give his wife some extra protection. As she headed into the smoke and fire of the strange city surrounding her, Sigyn hoped that her husband’s good intentions would not be wasted.

Now ready in case the Chitauri attacked her, Sigyn faced the second issue with her plan: How to get up to the top of Stark Tower. Stairs were out of the question in this extremely tall building and if there were transports on the inside, they would be useless due to the amount of wreckage in the plaza before the main entrance, blocking up the doors. Flying to the top seemed the best option. However, the amount of things flying around - both friendly and dangerous - would probably not help Sigyn stay stealthy in her quest. 

As if by some divine providence, one of the Chitauri chariots was blasted out of the sky by an explosive arrow. The three creatures aboard were knocked off and fell to the ground in various pieces, the driver in a greater number of parts than his two compatriots. However, the chariot itself skidded into the branches of a tree in the plaza where Sigyn was standing. Climbing up the tree, she was thankful to find it still operational though she couldn’t understand any of the strange symbols or buttons that actually made the thing work. 

After some experimentation, Sigyn was able to free the machine from the tree. She then did a little practice test drive around the plaza to get a feel for driving it in various directions. She noticed it had a hard time turning corners though it could gain and reduce elevation with ease. Her height made it a little difficult to see over the top of the vessel, and she hoped that it might appear outwardly as though the chariot was operating without a driver. Bracing her feet with a wide stance, she began lifting the vessel upwards and heading toward the tower. It appeared to be missing several of the letters in its owner’s name, most of which had fallen either to the plaza below or the rooftops of surrounding buildings. 

Most of the fighting seemed to be on the other side of the building, so Sigyn only had to use her seiðr to blast about a half dozen Chitauri out of the sky as they headed toward her. She gritted her teeth as she rose higher, hoping that she would be able to do some good when she reached the top. When she finally did make it to the penthouse level, she brought the chariot to a skidding halt on the landing pad Stark used for his Iron Man armor. She didn’t know how to turn the thing off, so she left it on its side and crept toward the door. The Chitauri seemed to have abandoned their defense of the suite, but Sigyn continued to sneak around just in case there were any stragglers left behind. 

After almost getting lost, she followed the beam of energy to the parapet where the machine unleashing the portal had been set up. Just as she arrived, the unconscious man at the base of the machine began to wake up. Startled, he looked around as if getting his bearings. He then looked up into the sky at the portal he created. His face first showed signs of wonderment and amazement followed by abject terror. Slumping back against the machine as if defeated, he then noticed Sigyn for the first time. As she approached, he sat up straighter.

“You are the Lady Sigyn,” Selvig said, seemingly shocked.

“You know me?” Sigyn said, a little surprised herself. She then schooled her features. “My husband mentioned me to you.”

“Yes, but that is not where I know you from,” Selvig admitted. “You are from legend… the victory bringer… the goddess of fidelity…”

“I have many titles,” Sigyn said. “Most of them seem meaningless now.”

“Perhaps to you,” Selvig said, “but it brings me some comfort to know that the Lady of Victory is on our side.”

“Are you well, sir?” Sigyn asked him. “I know that what my husband has done to you must have been uncomfortable…”

“Yes, there is nothing quite like having a god in one’s head,” Selvig said with a slight smile. 

“You are not in pain, then?” Sigyn asked hopefully.

“Not in the physical sense,” Selvig said. “Though it does pain me to see what… what I’ve done.”

“You should not hold yourself responsible,” Sigyn insisted. “My husband gave you no choice but to use your talents for this purpose. Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise. Had you not gone ahead with this plan, I have no doubt the Chitauri would have killed you. In fact, I doubt very much they would have seen any use for you once the device was complete had this battle not distracted them.”

“Yes,” Selvig nodded.

“Is there anything we can do to stop this portal?” Sigyn asked. “As long as it is open, I fear our friends below will be in turmoil.”

“The scepter… the energy…” Selvig shook his head, “the Tesseract can’t fight. You can’t protect against yourself.”

“It isn’t your fault,” Sigyn reiterated. “You did not know what you were doing.”

“Well, actually,” the doctor admitted, “I think I did. I built in a safety to cut the power source.”

“The scepter,” Sigyn said.

“It might be able to close the portal,” Selvig said. “If we can find it.”

“If we can find what?” Black Widow’s voice echoed from where she had just jumped off one of the chariots onto the parapet. 

“The scepter,” Sigyn replied. “Dr. Selvig believes there might be a way to close the portal.”

“You know, your husband’s down there looking for you,” Widow informed her.

“What?” Sigyn said, startled.

“Apparently you left…” Widow began.

“The cuff! Curses!” Sigyn hissed, stomping her foot. “Well, there is no time to worry about that now.”

“So, Dr. Selvig,” Widow said, turning to the man. “What do you need?”  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The last thing Nicholas Fury needed while he was trying to monitor the Avengers in Manhattan was a call from the World Security Council. Then again, the suits on top never seemed to find a convenient time to bother him. They were never around for the planning stages, instead wanting to be briefed during the middle of the most crucial action. They were never there to praise whenever SHIELD made accomplishments, but when even the slightest error occurred they were demanding answers and looking for someone to blame.

This was one of those days that Fury was glad he couldn’t see the faces on the screens of the council members. Sure, he could probably use their basic outlines and voices to track down who each member was if he really thought it was worth the time and effort, but there were more important fish to fry. Had he any easy way of accessing their identities, this might be one of the times Fury lost his temper and decided to pay each of them a very close, personal visit. Instead, he found himself arguing with the council over a decision they had made in too little time with too little information.

“Director Fury, the council has made a decision,” the second council member informed him tersely.

“I recognize that the council has made a decision,” Fury replied, “but given that it’s a stupid-ass decision, I’ve elected to ignore it.”

“Director, you’re closer than any of our subs,” the first council member said. “You scramble that jet…”

“That is the island of Manhattan, Councilman” Fury responded angrily. He didn’t understand why they needed reminding of this. “Until I’m certain my team can’t hold it, I will not order a nuclear strike against a civilian population.”

“If we don’t hold them in the air, we lose everything,” the first council member replied.

“If I send that bird out,” Fury said tiredly, “we already have.” 

He angrily shut off his communication with the council, hoping this time they would opt to take his advice. Looking over his view screen, Fury could see the destruction mounting in the city. While he could understand why the council was apprehensive about the Avengers’ ability to defend the city from the Chitauri, Fury also knew that the heat of battle often made things look darker than they really appeared. Perhaps this was a battle on a greater scale than anyone on earth had seen before, but that didn’t necessarily mean they were losing. His thoughts were interrupted by Agent Hill’s voice.

“Sir, we have a bird in motion!” she called out. “Anyone on the deck, we have a rogue bird! We need to shut it down. Repeat, take off is not authorized.”

Before Hill could look to him for further direction, Fury raced out of the room, grabbing an airtronic gun. He had never raced out to the helipad atop the carrier so fast and he doubted he could do it again without all the adrenaline pumping through his system. He arrived outside just in time to watch the pilot taking off. Skidding to a halt, he fired and hit the tail end of the jet. While the plane and pilot seemed unharmed, Fury noticed the second jet flying off as he lowered his weapon. There was nothing more he could do.

“Stark, are you hearing me?” Fury said over his comm. “We have a missile headed straight for the city.”

“How long?” Iron Man replied. 

“Three minutes, at best,” Fury replied. “Stay low and wipe out the missile.” 

He didn’t wait for Stark to reply. He could only hope now that the team he assembled would prove themselves to be every bit the heroes he had hoped they would. If not, he hated to see what kind of state the world might end up in.  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As he knocked the chariot riders out of the sky, Thor hadn’t noticed the Leviathan crashing into the building beside him. Fortunately, it knocked him to the ground where he was able to get back on his feet and keep fighting alongside the Captain, who didn’t seem the least bit surprised to see one of his fellow Avengers fall out of the sky and then roll right back into the fighting. He was also slightly surprised to see Loki was still there, fighting as well. Thor then felt a little guilty for thinking his brother would run away in the midst of battle.

Above them, Iron Man flew straight through the Leviathan that had just sent Thor earthward, bursting out of the back end of it as it fell to the ground, collapsing in a heap of molten metal. Cap was actually a little surprised that Iron Man didn’t have a brilliant quip ready for his spectacular exit from the beast’s backside. Actually, the fact that Stark didn’t say anything made Cap a little concerned for him.

Momentarily distracted, Cap found himself hit in the stomach by one of the Chitauri blasters. While he fell on the pavement, his shield beside him, he could hear Thor knocking blasts back with a hammer. With a swing, the god sent a car hurdling toward the advancing group then seamlessly turned to help the Captain back to his feet. Loki sent his knives into the last Chitauri standing and then used his magic to retract them. Thor noticed his brother seemed a little weaker than he looked.

“You ready for another bout?” Thor asked him, sounding concerned. 

“What? You gettin’ sleepy?” Cap smirked at him. Widow’s voice interrupted it.

“We can close it!” she said over the comm. “Can anybody hear me?”

“She has retrieved the scepter?” Loki asked hopefully.

“Nabbed it off the leader when he headed back here to regroup,” Widow said. “Not taking any changes. Sigyn’s using it.”

“She’s there?” Loki asked hopefully.

“We can shut the portal down!” Widow replied, hoping to get everyone focused back on the task at hand.

“Do it!” Cap ordered.

“No, wait!” Iron Man interrupted.

“Stark, these things are still coming,” Cap pointed out. 

“I got a nuke coming in,” Stark replied. “It’s gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it.” Cap, Thor and Loki looked upwards to see Iron Man sailing over the skies of Midtown, the rocket in his hands. 

“Stark, you know that’s a one-way trip?” Cap said. Stark didn’t answer, switching over to the channel to talk with JARVIS. 

Below, the three men watched as Iron Man climbed higher and higher, gaining speed as he gained altitude. He suddenly flung himself through the portal with the bomb. Cap called out for him, but there was no response. The portal suddenly began getting smaller and smaller and the Chitauri around the city suddenly became motionless, falling to the ground. Even Loki seemed a little pleased that the creatures were defeated. Just as the portal seemed ready to lose up entirely, the Iron Man suit came through it in a free fall.

“Son of a gun,” Steve smirked.

“He’s not slowing down!” Thor said, worriedly. 

With a sigh, Loki lifted his hands, and the speed in which Tony’s body began hurdling slowed down to the point that he landed almost like a feather. Cap and Thor rushed over to his body while Loki seemed to keep his distance, visible strain on his face. Thor ripped off the helmet, but Tony didn’t seem to be alive. Thor and Cap exchanged a look as Loki sauntered over. He poked Tony in the chest twice and suddenly, the man awoke as if startled.

“What the hell? What just happened?” Tony asked out of breath. “Please tell me nobody kissed me. Especially not Norman Bates over there.”

“We won,” Cap replied with a smile. 

“Alright, yay. Hey, alright,” Tony said happily, still lying on the ground. “Good job, guys. Let’s just not come in tomorrow. Let’s just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I wanna try it.”

“Guys?” Widow’s voice said over the comm followed by a loud crash. “Guys, something’s happening. You might want to get up here.”

“What is it?” Cap asked. There was no reply, only the sounds of a struggle and some strange laughter.

“We’re not finished yet,” Thor said, looking up at the tower. 

“Widow?” Cap asked over the comm.

“Selvig and I are holed up in the guest bathroom,” Widow said over the comm. “We’ve lost Sigyn.”

“What do you mean you’ve lost her?” Iron Man asked.

“There’s this… thing here…” Widow said. “He came in with a horde of… I don’t know. They aren’t Chitauri but they’re definitely alien. In the fighting, they took her hostage.”

“What is happening with my wife?” Loki demanded to know.

“Do you know what they want?” Cap asked. 

“He said he wanted to talk to Loki,” Widow replied. Cap looked down and then at the man beside him.

“Widow says there’s a man in the tower,” Cap said as calmly as he could manage. “He’s got a group of… something. She said aliens. And they’re holding Sigyn hostage. He wants to talk with you.”

“The Other,” Loki muttered, his eyes clouding over in anger. A loud crashing sound echoed over the comm.

“Widow, is everything okay?” Cap asked over his comm.

“Yeah,” she replied. “The Hulk just arrived. Stark’s gonna have to rebuild his bar.”

“I guess the Italianate marble was too much,” Iron Man sighed. “Maybe I’ll do something understated this time around. What do you guys think about bamboo? Too tiki hut?”

“If he lays a finger on my wife, I will end him,” Loki hissed.

“He will rue this day, brother,” Thor agreed. For a moment, a look somewhat akin to brotherly affection passed between the two of them, perhaps for the first time since Thor had arrived back on Midgard.

The group headed toward Stark Tower, somehow picking up Hawkeye from one of the streets along the way. When they reached the foot of it, the challenge came in how they were going to ascend. Iron Man flew up to the top, grabbing Cap by the scruff of his uniform. Thor began swinging his hammer, but launched himself upward after Loki bickered with him, refusing to be “carried around like a child” by his brother. Gritting his teeth, Clint pulled a still operational Chitauri chariot of the wreckage and offered to chauffeur Loki up to the top. Instead, Loki took the helm and Clint relaxed backward, wondering idly if calling Loki “Jeeves” would be conducive at this point.

When the five men reassembled, the found themselves facing the wreckage of the penthouse suite, though not a soul seemed to be inside. A door opened slightly and all of them besides Stark braced for whatever would emerge. It was Widow, a gun drawn. She ordered Selvig to stay back and the doctor willingly did so. Widow emerged fully from the bathroom to reveal she was holding the scepter in her other hand. While the majority of the group looked relieved, Loki looked a little bit devastated.

“Sigyn handed it to Selvig during the fighting,” Widow announced. “Made him hide with it. I think… I think she let them take her so we could get away.”

“That sounds like something she would do,” Thor smirked. Loki’s mouth was instead set in a firm, grim line.

“Give the scepter to me,” Loki said.

“Um… why?” Stark demanded to know, heading back to what remained of his bar and fixing himself a drink. The Hulk ambled into the room, looking around as if distressed.

“None of you know how to use it,” Loki pointed out. “And we will need every weapon in our arsenal if we are to destroy The Other.”

“I just sent a nuke through a space portal,” Tony pointed out, taking a sip of his scotch.

“The power of The Other can make this battle with the Chitauri look like children fighting over a toy,” Loki shook his head. “You will have preserved your world just to rain down on it a destruction of which you cannot fathom.”

“Give him the scepter,” Thor nodded.

“What?” the others said at the same time.

“Loki may be a liar, but he is telling the truth,” Thor said. 

“And you know this because…” Stark began.

“He is scared,” Thor said. Loki opened his mouth to protest, but Thor cut him off. “I can see it in your eyes, brother. In fact, I have seen much more in them since the helicarrier.”

“Fine,” Widow said, handing over the scepter to Loki, “but if I even think for a second that you’re going to use it against us, I’ll put a bullet in the back of your head.”

“You’ll have to beat my arrow,” Hawkeye said.

The group began striding forward on Loki’s heels toward the game room where Widow indicated Sigyn was being held hostage. Tony wasn’t sure why these new aliens had chosen the room with all of his video game systems, the pinball machines, arcade style games, billiard and ping pong tables as their headquarters. He could only assume the technology gave them the same comfort it did him. Then again, he was glad that they hadn’t decided to camp out in his bedroom. He would probably never be able to sleep in the room again, wondering what sort of strange alien stuff went on behind the closed doors. 

In the end, the group didn’t have to break into the game room. The Other and his group of similarly veiled henchmen came bursting out. There were three on each side of The Other, who was unmistakeable in the aura of fear he surrounded himself with. The creature was holding Sigyn up by her throat, as if she were a mere ragdoll. While there were only seven of them to the Avengers’ seven - well, Hulk maybe put that count somewhere closer to nine or ten - it didn’t seem wise to try to take them on directly.

“Loki of Asgard,” The Other said in a deep voice. “You have failed.”

“Release her,” Loki demanded, holding the scepter as threateningly as possible. “Your quarrel is with me.”

“Thanos will not be pleased,” The Other continued, ignoring Loki completely. “He will demand payment for this failure of yours. His vengeance will be mighty.”

“Look, you want Loki,” Stark said. “Take Loki. Just give us the girl back.”

“Why give up when I hold the upper hand,” The Other asked, his voice sending chills down the spines of the Avengers as his grasp seemed to tighten around Sigyn’s throat. She seemed to be struggling not to show how painful it was, but let out a gasp nonetheless.

“You will bring down the wrath of the Nine Realms,” Thor threatened him. The Other merely laughed. 

“Your pitiable realms hold no threat against the greatest power in the universe,” The Other said. “This is but a mere setback. You and all your worlds will come to grovel before us.”

“The scepter still has the power to destroy you,” Loki threatened.

“Ah, but does the one who wields it?” The Other simpered. “Made weak by torture so intricate your brain cannot comprehend it. Stripped of your powers, using a strange artifact your wife created in the hopes of channeling what small magic you are allowed. Even with the scepter amplifying it, you are in no position to fight us. Even if you were at full strength, you would never be a match for us.”

Thor looked at Sigyn, she was mouthing something. Something that looked strangely like the Asgardian word for hammer. Thor moved closer, stealthily attempting to remove the cuff from his brother’s wrist. Loki glanced at him out of his peripheral vision, but seemed to understand the plan. He decided to take another tactic with The Other in order to give Thor time to execute his plan.

“Fine then,” Loki said. “I still have the scepter. Returning to the Mad Titan with my wife will not win you his favor. He will want this.”

“You really think I would be so easily fooled?” The Other laughed.

“And you expect me to believe that she is worth more to your master than the Mind Stone?” Loki scoffed.

“Your bride is more beautiful in person than in your dreams,” The Other smirked, using the hand that wasn’t holding Sigyn’s throat to run a finger down the side of Sigyn’s face. “I have a feeling drawing pain from her body will prove quite pleasurable indeed. I wonder if she will break as easily as you did…”

“Now,” Loki screeched. 

Thor used his hammer to break Loki’s cuff, returning the seiðr back into Loki’s body with a green spray. The Other moved behind his foot soldiers as the Avengers began hitting them with everything they had. While the combination of arrows, bullets, blasters and Cap’s shield seemed to knock them all down temporarily, they managed to rebound. Hitting them with the scepter, however, turned each one into ash. As The Other grabbed Sigyn and attempted to move away from the battle, he found himself confronted by the Hulk. While the punch to the face from the green goliath was not enough to take The Other down, it was enough to throw him off balance and make him lose his grip on Sigyn. Rather than waiting around to finish him off, the Hulk grabbed Sigyn as she fell and then bounded out of the room and out of Stark Tower completely. 

Finally, The Other found himself surrounded by the Avengers, all of his foot soldiers decimated. This was not obviously someone who should be taken alive. The group began hitting him what whatever they had. Widow emptied all of her remaining bullets into him as Hawkeye used up the rest of the arrows he had. Thor was alternating between sending lighting and Mjolnir into The Other’s face while Cap was hitting various body parts with his shield. Iron Man had JARVIS set his blasters as high as they would go in their current settings, doing as much damage as he could. Finally, Loki raised the scepter, ready to finish the creature off. Instead, The Other looked up and smirked.

“There is no place you can hide from Thanos,” The Other said. Then, in a mass of light and energy, he disappeared, leaving a giant smudge of ash on the penthouse floor. The room went quiet for a beat.

“What the hell was that?” Hawkeye asked. 

In response, Loki threw down the scepter and then looked around the room. 

“Where is she?” he demanded to know. “Where did that beast take my wife?”

“It’s Banner,” Stark defended. “He’s not a beast. Well, most of the time.”

“If he has harmed her…” Loki began.

“She’s probably safer in that guy’s hands than yours,” Hawkeye scoffed. Loki glared at him.

“You probably owe him a thank you for taking out of here when he had the opportunity,” Cap pointed out.

“Let’s just find him,” Loki grimaced.  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the Hulk leapt off of the Tower with her, Sigyn was slightly alarmed at how they were going to land among all of the buildings and wreckage. As they approached the ground, the creature seemed to roll himself around her, protecting her from any impact. They hit the ground with a massive thud and her helmet rolled off as the Hulk rolled to a stop, keeping her from coming into contact with the ground. When the dust cleared and they stopped moving, Sigyn wriggled out of the beast’s grasp to find themselves in some sort of blast crater. It took her a moment to gain her bearings and balance. She looked around, trying to see if she could identity how far from the tower they were. Unable to do so, her attention was distracted when she heard a whimper coming from the creature that had just saved her. On his haunches, the Hulk seemed to be cradling one of his hands. While the blasts from the Chitauri and the wreckage of the buildings hadn’t hurt him, the Hulk had apparently landed on something at just the right angle and just the right speed to penetrate his tough exterior. Sigyn headed toward him as slowly and cautiously as she could. She had tended many a wounded creature in her life and knew how injury could make anyone both brave and vulnerable at the same time.

“Are you hurt?” she asked the Hulk. 

The creature just looked at her, confused.

“If you let me see,” Sigyn offered, “I could help? You helped me, after all.” Sigyn heard her name being called from somewhere above them. The Hulk went into a defensive pose, seeming worried that whoever was looking for them would not be friendly.

“It’s alright,” Sigyn tried to soothe him. 

“Sigyn!” her husband’s voice called. 

Sigyn looked up at the top of the crater. Her husband was standing there, holding her helmet in one hand. He looked absolutely terrified, which surprised her. Loki had always been very good at schooling his emotions. He usually only showed them to her in private. He was soon joined by the rest of the Avengers and Dr. Selvig, all of whom seemed to be analyzing the best way to traverse the crater to the bottom. 

“I am fine,” Sigyn called back, turning to the Hulk. “Come now, let me see.”

As Sigyn continued to approach him, the Hulk nervously reared back a little.

“You poor thing,” Sigyn said, inching toward the green goliath. 

“Step away from him Sigyn!” Loki called, trying to find his way safely down the giant hole in the street where his wife and the monster were located. “The beast could harm you!” The Hulk, for his part, let out a pitiable whimper.

“What is wrong?” Sigyn asked the giant. Looking at her nervously, the beast held out his hand. Stuck in it was a shard of plywood that would have ordinarily seemed huge but was really on a splinter in the hand of the Hulk. Sigyn clucked her tongue. “We will have to remove that.”

“Sigyn! Back away!” Loki ordered, managing to slide down some broken concrete.

“Does she know what she’s doing?” Tony asked worriedly.

“I hope so,” Steve sighed.

“This may hurt a little, and for that I am sorry,” Sigyn informed the Hulk. 

She began singing an old Vanir lullaby she had learned from Frigga, hoping it would distract the creature while she worked on his wound. Entranced by her voice, the Hulk seemed to focus on Sigyn herself rather than what she was doing to his hand. Slowly, she managed to slide the plywood out of his hand and toss it away. The Hulk yelped a bit, just as Loki hit the ground and began sprinting toward his wife.  
\  
“Back away you beast!” Loki said threateningly, holding his knives in case he needed to defend Sigyn. The Hulk, for his part, put himself between Loki and Sigyn as if Loki were the larger threat.

“He is fine, husband,” Sigyn insisted from behind the massive creature. “Just a small wound. He is fine now.” Loki looked at his wife skeptically then lowered his knives. The Hulk sat back on his haunches and then looked at Sigyn.

“Sing! Sing! More sing!” the Hulk demanded. 

Sigyn smiled bashfully as Loki slowly maneuvered himself closer to his wife, doing his best to not catch the attention of the green beast. Sigyn resumed her song and the happy Hulk listened along until he began to doze off. Just around the time Sigyn finished the song, the sleeping green creature slowly morphed back into the mild-mannered Dr. Banner. Seeing that the doctor was naked as the day he was born and surrounded by shards of glass and building material, Sigyn looked to her husband hopefully. With an exasperated sigh, Loki took off his cape and draped it over the doctor.

“You owe me another,” Loki informed his wife just as the rest of the Avengers made their way down into the massive crater.

“I will make you a fine cloak,” Sigyn replied with a smile. “It will be the envy of all the Nine Realms.”

Tony and Natasha began checking Banner over for injuries, but he waved them off, instead on focusing on how to wrap Loki’s cloak around himself in such a way that it would stay put but also not reveal anything inappropriate. Loki pulled his wife closer toward himself, wrapping one arm around her waist and using his opposite hand to smooth out her hair and check her over for injuries. He grimaced when he saw the purple and greenish bruises forming on her neck where The Other had gripped her. Loki moved to conceal the marks with his seiðr, but Sigyn stopped him and did so herself. She didn’t want to drain any more of her husband’s power while he was still in recovery.

“You shouldn’t have left your bed,” Sigyn told him.

“You shouldn’t have left me in my bed,” Loki pointed out.

“I had to do what I felt was right,” Sigyn said. 

“Did you have to put me under a sleeping incantation to do so?” Loki asked.

“Would you have allowed me to go if I hadn’t?” Sigyn smirked.

“No,” Loki grumbled.

“Would it make you feel better if I said I was glad you came after me?” Sigyn asked. “You didn’t not have to fight alongside your brother and his friends, yet you did so.”

“I did it for you,” Loki insisted. “Not them or any of these...people.”

“That is a start,” Sigyn said happily. Before Loki could respond, Thor strode over and clapped his brother on the back.

“Be happy, brother! We are triumphant!” Thor boomed at Loki before turning to Sigyn. “But then how could we not with the Bringer of Victory on our side!”

“I think something exploded too close to his ears,” Loki grumbled to Sigyn. “He seems to be shouting louder than normal.”

“You will not dampen my mood, brother,” Thor smiled. “Come! Stark says we shall have a feast of celebration!”


	9. Chapter 8: Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> _The sweetest of all sounds is that of the voice of the woman we love. - Jean de la Bruyere_  
> 

Perhaps this Midgardian fare was delicious or perhaps he just hadn’t eaten in so long that everything seemed tasty, but Loki had to admit that this “shawarma” was not the worst thing he had ever tasted. Of course, Loki wasn’t about to voice his approval of the rotisserie-style meat. The rest of the Avengers were either completely underwhelmed with the cuisine or just too tired to comment on it. Well, all save Thor and the Captain. Loki’s erstwhile brother had eaten four of the strange wraps and was on his fifth while the Captain was finish off number three. The rest were still working their way through their first, though Loki had surprised everyone by ordering a second.

Sigyn remained the lone occupant of the large table to not indulge in this strange wrap of bread and meat that Stark had insisted they all partake in. While she had been a child in the dwarven lands where just about every meal was roasted on a spit of some kind, Sigyn’s tastes had become more in line with her Vanir ancestry as she got older. Just about everywhere on Vanaheim was within walking distance of a sea, large lake or massive river. While meat from animals like stags, boars, and rabbits were not uncommon, most of the meat in the Vanir cuisine was fish or shellfish. Though meat was often the centerpiece of the main course, the large majority of dishes from Vanaheim were composed of growing things: fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and the like. 

Instead of opting for the meat wrap, Sigyn had started her meal with pita chips dipped into the tahini provided for her husband’s wrap as well as some hummus. The sly shopkeeper had seen this and then offered Sigyn tabbouleh and fattoush, prompting Tony to ask if Sigyn was a vegan. Tony then spent five minutes trying to explain to Steve and the Asgardians what a vegan was before giving up and returning to his meal. After Thor let out a huge belch that was loud enough to probably level the city - earning a glare from both Loki and Sigyn - the group decided to pack it in and regroup back at Stark Tower - or what was left of it. Tony was laying down the last of the massive tip for the kindly cafe owners when Fury strode into the room, Coulson and Hill behind him.

“I believe you have our prisoner,” Fury said to the group.

“We wouldn’t have him if you hadn’t let him escape,” Tony pointed out.

“He changed into my form and stole a jet,” Fury said angrily. “He even had my fingerprints to get access codes to it!”

“You stole a jet?” Steve asked Loki, seeming mildly impressed.

“No, I borrowed one. It wasn’t too difficult to fly,” Loki shrugged. “I could have navigated your so-called ‘jet’ as a small child. And I made sure to stow it somewhere safe from the fighting where it would not be damaged. I cannot say the same for the vessel you entrusted to your defenders.”

“Come now,” Thor said to Fury, “I think my brother has earned some redemption. He did fight alongside us…”

“To protect his wife,” Fury responded.

“And he did help us figure out how to close the portal…” Thor began.

“Which he caused to open up in the first place,” Stark pointed out.

“And Selvig and Sigyn figured out how to close it before he did,” Natasha mentioned.

“He also gave us the scepter back when we did not ask for it,” Thor insisted. No one had a real response to counter that. “And he helped us vanquish our enemies! Now should be a time to celebrate our victory not squabble amongst ourselves. Besides, his first crimes were on Asgard, and he will have to answer for those before my father allows him to be returned here to stand trial.”

“I will gladly allow you to take me into custody to avoid my brother’s prattling on,” Loki said to Fury, extending his hands as if ready for them to be cuffed. Fury seemed to be weighing his options.

“I have a feeling the World Security Council is about to be breathing down my neck, asking a lot of questions about you,” Fury said, looking at all of the Avengers. “All of you. And why the nuke they sent out didn’t go off. It might be best if you all laid low and kept of the radar for awhile.” He turned back to Thor. “Keep him out of my sight until you can get him back to Asgard.”

“I shall,” Thor agreed, happily. He shook Fury’s hand and the director turned to leave with Hill and Coulson in tow.

“Wait,” Loki called after them. The three looked back as Loki turned to Coulson. “I believe I owe you something.”

“No... it’s fine…” Coulson began as Loki whispered some strange words, raising up two fingers on his hand in front of Coulson’s face. Wisp of green seiðr formed several ancient symbols over the agent’s head before disappearing.

“Your reward for your assistance,” Loki informed Coulson. “I owe you nothing now.” Loki then turned to his wife, who seemed to be happily whispering something in his ear.

“Um… what was that about?” Hill asked.

“A great blessing, my friend,” Thor boomed, shaking Coulson’s hand, “and one rarely given from my brother. You will have great fortune!”

“Okay,” Fury rolled his eyes. “Out of my sight.”  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the Avengers and company arrived back at Stark Tower, they split up to handle their various post-battle needs. Banner and Barton sprawled out on massive recliners in the main living area and went to sleep, both of them snoring loudly enough to wake the dead. Steve went to take a shower after borrowing some sweats of Tony’s that would probably be too small and too tight on his frame. Thor raided the fridge and Natasha began an inventory of what she had used during the battle so she could properly replace her arsenal. Selvig had remained in the tower, passed out in a guest bedroom because the day’s events had overwhelmed him.

Tony received a call from Pepper, whose plane has been rerouted to Albany because of the battle. A giant Chitauri Leviathan had knocked out a couple of runways at LaGuardia and it would be another couple of hours before she could get a flight into the city. Regardless, Pepper was shouting at Tony about his near self-sacrifice while Tony was arguing back about how he’d tried to call her beforehand. When Pepper asked him if he had gotten hurt during his descent, he tried to change the topic to new design ideas for the repaired tower, earning him another verbal thrashing. Of course, he prefered that to two minutes later when Pepper broke down in a flood of tears and forced him to promise not to directly handle nuclear weaponry in the future. When he cracked the joke that at least this time the bomb didn’t literally have his name on it, she hung up. With his phone call over, Tony decided to check on the Asgardian fugitive he was harboring.

He found Loki and Sigyn gathered in the main room with everyone else. Thor, Natasha and Steve were on the couch near the coffee table, watching news footage of the day’s events while Barton and Banner were still sleeping nearby. Sigyn and Loki were in the back of the room. She had somehow found the one massage table kept in the tower and had her husband sprawled on it. Around her were various concoctions and pastes. Tony watched as Sigyn quietly consulted with JARVIS about Midgardian substitutes for some ingredient or another. Loki, for his part, didn’t seem to like the disembodied voice of the AI and tensed up every time it talked. With a smirk, Tony noticed the handcuffs were back and Loki had been cuffed to the massage table, probably to stop him from running off during his treatment. After a few minutes, Sigyn made Loki drink something that the god of mischief obviously thought tasted repulsive before she focused on rubbing a weird, beige paste on some of his bruises.

“We will return to Asgard soon,” Loki whispered at his wife tersely. “None of this is needed.”

“Your wounds have already gone untreated, too long,” Sigyn insisted. “It is a wonder you do not already walk with a limp after what was done to your leg.”

“Thor said another day,” Loki replied, “Surely this can wait until then…”

“And how will I explain to your mother that I let your wounds go untreated in the meantime?” Sigyn said, raising an eyebrow.

“Isn’t there something you can do that does not involve drinking those dreadful herbal remedies?” Loki asked, annoyed. “Or smearing that itchy paste all over me?”

“Had you stayed with the healers of SHIELD, none of this would have been necessary,” Sigyn said. “I have none of their equipment nor any from Asgard. Besides my charms and spells, we shall have to rely on the ancient Vanir remedies I know.”

“As charming as your heritage is, I hardly call rubbing crushed mushrooms on a boil medicine,” Loki huffed.

“One does not rub crushed mushrooms on a boil,” Sigyn rolled her eyes. “A warm compress of salt water or the juices of onions and garlic will suffice for that.”

“I was being facetious,” Loki pointed out.

“Really? I was too busy not caring,” Sigyn snorted. “And you do realize that dreadful herbal remedy I just made you drink is why your pain is lessening?”

“If any of the mead on this planet was digestible, I would have prefered that. And it would have had the same effect,” Loki huffed. “Actually, it would have had a more pleasant effect.”

“You are by far the worst patient I have ever treated,” Sigyn said, continuing to rub the beige paste on his ankle. “I might honestly prefer thrashing about and screaming to your attempts at wit.”

“Remember when Fandral broke his arm right before that tournament?” Loki asked suddenly. “And you had to break it to reset it?”

“Yes,” Sigyn nodded. 

“He cried,” Loki smirked.

“What is your point?” Sigyn asked.

“Nothing,” Loki shrugged. “I just like thinking about him in that room, sniveling like a child and moaning about how you hurt him.”

“He was under a lot of anesthesia,” Sigyn said. “Now, turn over.” As Loki complied, Sigyn turned to face Tony. He suddenly realized that she had known he was watching them the entire time. “Do you have need of my healing services, sir?”

“Ah, no,” Tony shook his head. “I’ll probably just pop a couple of aspirin and be fine. JARVIS already checked me for signs of a concussion. He said I was fine.”

“I said you needed further observation sir,” JARVIS replied.

“Aspirin?” Sigyn asked, not recognizing the term.

“Acetylsalicylic acid,” Tony tried to explain. “It helps with headaches, pains, inflammation… Comes in pill form?”

“Like extract of willow bark? Or essence of meadowsweet?” Sigyn nodded.

“Come again?” Tony asked.

“Sir, willow bark and meadowsweet are plants wherein the properties of aspirin naturally occur,” JARVIS said.

“Yeah, Stark,” Barton said, waking up from his nap to get in a jab. “Everyone knows that.”

“You know, it’s one thing when my AI talks back to me, but I expected better of you, Barton,” Tony said.

“You expected wrong,” Barton replied, shifting slightly and then going back to sleep.  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony showed each of his guests to their various rooms before having a light dinner set up for everyone to have in the communal dining room. Halfway through the meal, Pepper arrived and she and Tony retreated to his room to talk. After the meal, the majority of the group decided to stay up for a little while longer and watch a movie in Tony’s media room. Banner, Loki and Sigyn opted out, deciding to head into their rooms and retire for the evening. Sigyn had thought about drawing herself a bath when they retreated to their quarters, but was distracted by the way her husband was pacing the room after he shut and locked the door behind them. It took her a moment to realize he was ensuring the structure was secure.

“I do not think we are in any danger here, husband,” Sigyn tried to tell him as he continued looking around. “Our enemies are gone, and Sir Stark assured us the building is secure.”

“At least there are no windows in these rooms,” Loki muttered to himself.

“I think there was some concern you might try to use one to escape,” Sigyn rolled her eyes.

“I should put up some wards and a few protection spells just to be safe,” Loki continued on.

“No,” Sigyn shook her head, walking toward her husband and pushing him into a chair in the small living area of the room, “you should rest. I don’t want you overexerting yourself. The return to Asgard will probably take a lot out of you in your current condition.”

“This place is not safe yet,” Loki argued.

“Then I will put up the wards and spells,” Sigyn informed him. “Which ones are you thinking and where?”

Setting up the various protection enchantments Loki required took Sigyn about thirty minutes and a lot of patience to not throttle her husband for walking her through the basic steps of ward creation like she was a novice. She could have easily done so in less than half the time if he had just written out a list and locations he thought were best, but Loki happened to be in one of his micromanaging moods. Even with the excessive amount of protection magic she had placed in their rooms, Loki still seemed concerned that the area wasn’t safe enough and walked around to inspect it himself once she was done.

Sigyn bit her lip, wondering if her husband would ever feel they were safe again following his ordeal with the Mad Titan. Sigyn could still feel the cold, painful grasp of The Other around her neck when she closed her eyes, but she felt much safer now that she was again in the presence of her husband. The fact that the Avengers were all walking around upstairs was calming, as well. Loki, however, seem still very much fearful that some new danger would cross their path at any minute.

“We might need another ward in the bathroom,” Loki muttered to himself. “Above the toilet perhaps. Something might be able to slither up the pipes…”

“There are already three wards, six charms and eight enchantments in the bathroom, including three around the toilet,” Sigyn rolled her eyes. “I really think you are overestimating what kind of dangers there are on Midgard. The portals between the worlds have been closed now.”

“You managed to arrive here without a portal,” Loki pointed out.

“I was able to use a technicality,” Sigyn snorted. “A technicality that took me a long time and a great deal of strength and power to create. If anyone did have the knowledge on how to use such a loophole to break into these rooms, I doubt they would have the time to do so. We leave in a matter of hours, and unless this imaginary enemy can tell the future, they wouldn’t have the time to prepare for this.”

“One should always consider all the variables,” Loki reminded his wife coolly. “I have many more enemies now than when I left Asgard, and much more powerful ones. I cannot afford to take chances.”

“I am not going to let you pace this room and worry about protection spells the rest of the night,” Sigyn huffed. “Do I have to fetch Thor and have him lay Mjolnir atop you so that you will finally lie down and rest?”

“I am keeping you safe!” Loki insisted.

“You are driving us both mad!” Sigyn argued. “This is the first time in months we have actually be alone together and yet all you can think of is warding this entire building!”

“We aren’t alone,” Loki rolled his eyes. “Stark probably has his ways of watching us. Probably through that disembodied spirit he has doing his bidding…”

“You are being paranoid,” Sigyn sighed, sprawling out on the massive bed. She patted the spot beside her on it as Loki continued to pace. “Come. Sit with me, even if just for a few moments.”

Loki stopped his pacing and briefly seemed to consider joining his wife. Sigyn gave him her best “come hither” look and reclined in the position she knew her husband thought was most tempting. Loki seemed to look back and forth across the room, still somewhat concerned with the amount of protection placed around the room. Sigyn was about to give up trying to seduce her husband into resting when Loki finally decided to join her. He rounded the bed, slipped off his boots and then slid onto the mattress behind her, putting arm arm over her side. Sigyn took his hand in her own, smiling as her husband rested his head on top of hers.

“I will rest here with you for a little while,” Loki informed her. “Then I will do another walkthrough of these quarters with fresh eyes.” Sigyn closed her eyes, reveling in her husband’s embrace, and then turned onto her other side so they would lie face to face. Reaching downward, she again took his hand in hers, using her opposite hand to prop her head up on one of the bed’s pillows.

“I had feared I would never see you like this again,” Sigyn admitted to him after they had laid a moment or more in silence. “Each morning I would awaken in the hopes of seeing your or at least seeing your side of the bed had been slept in…”

“Please, Sigyn,” Loki interrupted, sensing his wife was becoming upset, “do not shed any more tears on my behalf. You have cried too much over me already.”

“I think I will decide when it has been too much,” Sigyn replied haughtily. “They are my tears, after all. I can shed them when I please.” Loki smirked, using the hand not holding his wife’s to trace the outline of her lips.

“My beautiful, stubborn wife,” Loki sighed. “I suppose I could spend this time lecturing you about your behavior as of late, but I doubt it would do either of us any good.”

“And what, pray tell,” Sigyn said, raising an eyebrow at him, “do I deserve a lecture for?”

“Your complete and utter lack of regard for your own personal safety, for one,” Loki mused. “Were you the type of wife who listened to her husband and took his counsel to heart, I might lecture you about how dangerous it was that you would leave the safety of Asgard to find me, especially since you knew not where I would be nor the dangers that you might face upon arrival there.”

“Even if my arrival threw off your ill-made plans and eventually contributed to your rescue not only from yourself but your mental captor?” Sigyn asked. Her eyes were wide and doe-like and her lips pouting slightly. It was an expression Loki had never been able to resist, but he still managed to roll his eyes at her use of it.

“I could also harangue you about how - despite the fact we were surrounded by those who could defeat them - you launched yourself at the Chitauri,” Loki said. “Both in the floating vessel and then again on the streets of this city.”

“I recall saving your life,” Sigyn huffed.

“Yes, well,” Loki said, “in the future, I would prefer you not attempt to save my life by being captured and then furthermore by being stabbed in the side. And Jor is for your protection, not an excuse for you to test out the various poisons across the realms.”

“Because you would never do the same for me,” Sigyn smirked.

“Because your life is infinitely more valuable to me than my own,” Loki corrected. Sigyn frowned slightly.

“I happen to believe the opposite,” she informed him. Loki sighed.

“And then, as if your behavior had not already given me an apoplexy,” Loki continued, “you manage to get yourself captured again by even more foul and dangerous creatures in order to save a pretty rock and two people you’ve known less than day.”

“First of all, you know the Mind Stone is more than a pretty rock,” Sigyn defended herself. “Secondly, if any of the three of us could have stood up to The Other and his minions, it was me with my Vanir blood and dwarven strength. And third of all, had you remained on the ship where you belonged, you wouldn’t even know about any of this.”

“Had _I_ stayed on the ship where _I_ belonged?” Loki said, his voice almost strangled. “It is times like these I wish your father had made you a set of shackles instead of me. I don’t understand why no one else sees that, of the two of us, you are the one more likely to go off gallivanting and get yourself killed.”

“But I didn’t get myself killed,” Sigyn pointed out. “I’d rather like to think I saved Midgard.”

“I am sure your avenging compatriots upstairs would love to hear you make that claim,” Loki rolled his eyes.

“Our avenging compatriots,” Sigyn corrected him with a slight grin.

“I doubt they would agree,” Loki said, “but then, you are stubborn enough that they might just so you will cease forcing the issue. Perhaps one day, I too, will learn to stop wasting my breath by trying to tell you what to do.”

“And perhaps one day you will learn to listen to me when I warn you away from doing something ridiculous,” Sigyn suggested.

“Let’s not get our hopes up too much about that, _lykyng_ ,” Loki smirked.

“A wife is allowed to hope,” Sigyn shrugged. 

“I am glad you never gave up hope with me,” Loki admitted. “To be honest, I tried not to miss you or even think about you. I was worried that it would be used against me, that somehow they would use those thoughts to find you and hurt you.”

“I promise you, I was safe,” Sigyn assured him.

“I know you say that you have already forgiven me,” Loki continued, “but I do plan to earn it as well.”

“Perhaps,” Sigyn suggested with a wiggle of her eyebrows then another of her hips, “you can begin by allowing me to show you all that you missed while you were away.”  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony hadn’t listened when Thor advised him that Loki and Sigyn should be given rooms that didn’t share a common wall with any other tower guests. He really thought that Thor was joking, and that it would be good if someone could keep an ear out for the couple in case they attempted to escape during the night. However, the looks on Barton and Natasha’s faces the next morning made him genuinely fear for his life. The two master assassins had rooms located on either side of the Asgardians, and neither had gotten much sleep. It had been the married couples’ first night alone together in nearly a full year, and as Thor later informed them, Loki liked to tell Sigyn he had put silencing charms on their quarters when in fact he had just amplified sounds so others could clearly hear his wife attesting his sexual prowess. Sigyn had apparently never caught on, mainly because everyone who had heard them was too embarrassed to say anything.

So now, Tony found both Natasha and Clint glaring at him over their morning cups of coffee. While Tony hadn’t slept much himself, that wasn’t unusual. Banner hadn’t quite shifted from India’s time zone yet and his transitions into the Hulk often left him disoriented and messed with his sleeping patterns. Not knowing any of this, Steve waltzed into the room bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, whistling “Yes, We Have No Bananas” at the top of his lungs. Not seeing the glares, he walked over to the coffee pot and began pouring himself a cup.

“So, how did everyone sleep?” Steve asked happily before turning around and realizing it wasn’t the best question for the assembled crowd.

“Didn’t,” Tony muttered.

“Same,” Banner agreed.

“Don’t want to talk about it,” Natasha muttered.

“Let’s just say Nat and I know a lot more about Loki’s physical anatomy than we ever wanted to,” Clint grumbled.

“I said I didn’t want to talk about it,” Natasha hissed at him.

“The walls in your tower are very thin,” Clint grumbled.

“The rooms are separated by recycled steel beams and concrete. What more do you want?” Tony retorted.

“I can tell you I don’t want my bedroom to share a common wall with their bedroom anymore,” Clint grimaced.

“My bedroom shared a common wall with their bedroom,” Natasha pointed out. “Your bedroom shared a common wall with their room’s living area and kitchenette.”

“Oh god,” Clint said, a look of horror crossing his face, “a lot of things I overheard last night are now being put into a new and terrifying context.”

“Come on, guys,” Tony said, taking a sip of his coffee. “We don’t want to offend Cap’s delicate sensibilities.”

“What?” Steve snorted.

“I will not have Captain America corrupted in my tower, dammit,” Tony said, pounding on the counter.

“You realize I once helped a guy paint a pin-up on his plane, right?” Steve pointed out.

“Good morning friends!” Thor boomed as he entered the room. “How do you all fare?” He was met with various groans as a response.

“Why didn’t you take a room next to your brother?” Clint asked as Thor poured the rest of the coffee into what was actually a large ornamental vase. Tony started to stop him but instead just stood back, awed at how Thor chugged out of the vase like it was just a massive stein.

“I did not take the room next to my brother’s because I knew anyone who did would not sleep last night,” Thor replied. “There is a reason why his and Sigyn’s quarters are kept separated from the rest of the royal suites in the palace.”

“They’re that noisy?” Tony said, surprised.

“They’ve only been married around 200 years,” Thor shrugged. Everyone stared at him, confused. “They’re practically newlyweds, so I suppose it is expected. Besides, the noise of their lovemaking is preferable to the way things can get when they are fighting.”

“I am pretty sure something happened in that room last night that is still technically illegal in the state of New York,” Clint said. 

“Like a murder?” Tony asked worriedly.

“I was referring to a sex act,” Clint responded.

“Murder can be a sex act,” Natasha said without thinking. She schooled her features when everyone in the room turned to her in slight horror. “You realize I deal with the worst of the worst in my line of work, right?”

“I was talking about the handcuffs law!” Clint grumbled. “You’re not allowed to have handcuffs in this city unless it’s part of your line of work!”

“Good to know,” Tony nodded. He noticed Steve smirking. “What, Cap? Handcuffs a little too kinky for you?”

“I actually thought Clint was talking about sodomy,” Steve replied, causing both Bruce and Tony to spit out their coffee as Natasha and Clint to burst out into laughter.

“Why would that be illegal?” Thor asked, confused.

“It is too early to be talking about this,” Bruce moaned.

“Talking about what?” Loki asked, striding into the room with his wife on his arm.

The god of mischief did indeed look rather mischievous, a bold smirk across his face. While his face still looked somewhat sunken and it was rather obvious he was using his magic to hold himself together, Loki seemed to strut into the room as if nothing was a matter. Sigyn seemed to be glowing as she clung to her husband. Their eyes met momentarily and Loki grinned at his wife predatorily, causing her to look away suddenly in shyness. Thor rolled his eyes at the interaction, seeming to indicate this type of lovey-dovey behavior was actually normal between his brother and sister-in-law. Tony nearly threw up in his mouth a little as Loki pulled back a chair for his wife and escorted her safely into it before taking the chair between his wife and Clint, who edged away from his former temporary evil master.

“So, what poorly-fashioned dish will we be subjected to in order to break our fast?” Loki inquired. He glanced over at Clint’s breakfast. “I do hope there is more than thickened gruel.”

“It’s called oatmeal,” Clint gruffed. “And you can get your own.”

“Well, on hand,” Tony said addressing Sigyn rather than her husband. “We have three kinds of sugar-filled, rainbow colored marshmallow cereals, a cereal with the word ‘bran’ in its title that promises to ease ‘bowel sensitivity,’ fruit, and if you ask really nicely, I can whip up some half-burnt toast. Possibly with jellies.”

“Oh! Fruit and burned bread with jellies, please!” Sigyn said excitedly.

“Here!” Thor said, plopping down two large mugs in front of his brother and sister-in-law. “I have made you the finest mugs of Midgard’s grand elixir known as coffee. It will rejuvenate you most thoroughly.”

“This looks like watered down dirt,” Loki huffed, inspecting the drink as Sigyn took a sip. She smiled brightly after removing the cup from her lips.

“It is water brewed of beans,” Thor informed his brother.

“It is delicious,” Sigyn pronounced. Seeing how happy it made his wife, Loki took a sip from his own mug, first a short one and then a second, longer one when he realized the drink was actually pleasant and probably not poisonous.

“Alright, so,” Tony said, handing both Sigyn and Loki a plate and putting on his best diner waitress impersonation. “Fruit and toast.” He turned to Loki. “What can I get you, sunshine?”

“I think you should give him some gruel,” Clint huffed as Tony plopped the fruit bowl from the breakfast nook in front of Sigyn.

“With fruit!” Sigyn said happily, picking various fruits out of the bowl Tony had brought before her. “It is best that way.” Loki rolled his eyes, but made no move to contradict his wife.

Within a matter of minutes, Loki was poking at his very thick oatmeal with his spoon while Sigyn decorated it with pieces of strawberries and bananas. She herself had piled up a plate with a banana, apple slices, orange segments, slices of kiwi, an entire cantaloupe and four pieces of toast with grape jelly. What strawberries she did not slide into her husband’s bowl she then began happily munching on herself. As it took some coaxing to get Loki to try the Midgardian fare, the pair were the only ones still eating a while later. The Avengers eventually gathered in the nearby sitting room, keeping watch as Sigyn happily described the taste of the various Midgardian fruits to her gloomy husband.

“Is she always this cheerful this early in the morning?” Clint asked Thor with a groan.

“Yes,” Thor nodded. “Of course, she is generally cheerful regardless of time of day. My brother, however, has never really enjoyed the early morning hours.”

“So, we just have to entertain them until you can work out how to get back to Asgard?” Steve asked.

“We’ve already worked that out,” Tony shook his head. “Banner, Selvig and I figured it out last night…. with a little help from Point Break, of course.”

“Where is Dr. Selvig?” Thor asked curiously.

“He’s opting to hide out in his room in case your brother tries to rearrange his brain again,” Tony said. “Anyway, we just need a good sized vacuum tube to complete your ride home. It’s being couriered over later. You guys should be Asgard-bound by this afternoon.”

“Good,” Thor frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Clint asked. “Not looking forward to going home?”

“My father was very clear about how Loki was to be returned to Asgard,” Thor said. “I doubt he and Sigyn will be pleased with how he is to be confined.”

“He’s a prisoner,” Natasha pointed out. “They’re usually confined.”

“Yes,” Thor agreed, “but that does not mean either of them will like it.”

“If anyone likes putting handcuffs on each other it’s those guys,” Tony snorted.

“Yeah,” Clint grimaced. “there might actually be a fetish component to it.” A trill of laughter turned the group’s attention back to the couple at the breakfast bar. Sigyn was tossing blueberries toward her husband who was endeavoring to catch them in his mouth. Each time he did so, Sigyn clapped a bit.

“Okay,” Tony grumbled, “guys who attempted to take over the world should not be that adorable with their wives. There’s gotta be a law. It’s probably part of the Geneva Convention or something.”

“They are pretty stinkin’ cute,” Steve admitted.

“Yeah,” Clint shook his head. “Still too squicked out about last night to find this adorable.”

“Okay,” Tony sighed to Bruce as Loki spoon fed his wife a bit of oatmeal and fruit. “We need to get work on that interdimensional transportation tube and get these guys home. If Pepper walks in on this she’s going to wonder why I’m not that sugary sweet with her, and I will not be shown up by an alien with bad taste in headwear. Especially not in my own tower.”


	10. Chapter 9: Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> _Fear the reckoning of those you have wronged. - Norse Proverb_  
> 

For whatever reason, the readings Banner conducted indicated the most favorable place for Thor to launch himself, his brother and his sister-in-law back into space was in Central Park. It was definitely not the most remote place Banner’s calculations had identified, but Tony insisted he was not driving to all the way out to the second closest location - mainly because it happened to be in Jersey. Steve didn’t seem to like the idea of going to New Jersey either and even made a sour face when Bruce suggested it. Despite his degrees and advanced knowledge of science and mathematics, Bruce decided New Yorkers were still a mystery. 

When the vacuum tube Banner and Stark had been waiting on arrived over, the pair took it and disappeared into the lab with the Tesseract. Thor then begrudgingly realized it was time to explain to Sigyn and Loki exactly how the Allfather had decreed Loki be brought back to Asgard. Sigyn had thought the chain and shackles she possessed would be enough, but the Allfather had sent down an additional chain, cuffs for Loki’s ankles and a muzzle for his mouth. Loki didn’t say anything and Thor grimly presented the restraints. Sigyn barely held back a sob until Thor produced the muzzle. It was then she went into a rage.

“You hid this until now?” Sigyn said, shoving at her brother-in-law and then beginning to beat on his chest. “You would keep this from us? Give us no time to prepare…”

“The Allfather…” Thor began, trying to stop Sigyn from attacking him without hurting her.

“Oh, yes,” Sigyn hissed “I’m sure he gave you very specific and secret instructions. After all, he isn’t the one who has to deal with things. It’s so much easier to make others do your dirty work for you, isn’t it?”

“He is in a delicate situation,” Thor argued. “He cannot show favoritism toward Loki. Not with the mood in Asgard the way it is…”

“Yes, because he has shown me so much favoritism before,” Loki snorted.

“I am sorry, Thor,” Sigyn agreed with her husband. “I know you respect the Allfather, but I cannot respect nor trust a man who not once came to offer many any comfort or solace or even acknowledgement when I had lost my husband - a husband who happened to be his own son.”

“I wouldn’t say his own son,” Loki rolled his eyes. “More like his ill-gotten property.”

“Please,” Thor begged both of them. “Quarreling amongst ourselves will only make this harder than it is.”

“Yes,” Loki said to his brother, “because this must be so difficult for you.”

“It is,” Thor said to Loki challengingly. “I never thought there would ever be a time when I would bring my brother back to Asgard in chains. And before you argue, you are my brother; the circumstances of your birth do not change that. It was never my desire to see you fallen in this way, but if you are to be returned home in such a manner, I feel as though I am the one who should see to it. I doubt anyone else would give you the compassion I can as your brother.” Loki was quiet after his brother spoke, as if contemplating Thor’s unusually insightful speech. Sigyn, however, didn’t seem to have calmed much.

“The Allfather’s small mercies do not excuse his past mistakes,” Sigyn insisted. “It is a poor man who expects others to seek redemption when he himself refuses to acknowledge how he could have done better in the past and apologize for those he has hurt. His position does not make him immune from basic courtesy and kindness to others. In fact, if anything he should be held to a higher standard.”

“I cannot account for my father,” Thor told her. “I just must do what I have been tasked with.”

“Well then,” Loki huffed, “shall you shackle first my legs or my arms?”

“Do not act as if I take pleasure in this,” Thor grimaced at his brother. Loki opened his mouth to speak, but Sigyn’s voice drew the attention of both brothers.

“I will do it,” Sigyn announced to them. “I will bind him. You may check to ensure my work is thorough, Thor, but given what my husband has been through in the past year, I think it would be best if he were to be bound by someone he trusted.” Loki attempted a lascivious wink at his wife, who was not amused, while Thor gaped at the suggestion. He turned to Loki, seemingly upset.

“You do not trust me, brother?” Thor asked, downtrodden.

“No further than I could throw your hammer,” Loki snorted. Never able to hide his emotions, Thor’s face scrunched up in despair that Loki felt so separated from him. Sigyn glowered at her husband slightly for at least not seeming somewhat contrite that he had been so brusque with Thor.

“What is it about me you do not trust?” Thor asked, concerned. “Have I not done all I could to protect you and Sigyn these past few days? I would certainly lay down my life for you both, even after what you have done, Loki. What is it about me that is untrustworthy?”

“Thor, do not dwell…” Sigyn began.

“I trust you with Sigyn,” Loki corrected, “because you have proven that you would protect her over yourself if need be. I do not necessarily believe you would do the same for me, especially given how I have treated your precious Midgard. I also cannot trust one who so blindly puts his trust in Odin. I have no trust for your so-called Allfather, not after he spent my entire life lying to me and then didn’t even have the courtesy to see why that might upset me. Until such a time as I believe your faith in him will not lead to your betrayal of me, I cannot trust you.” Thor was quiet for a moment.

“I suppose that is fair enough,” Thor sighed, still obviously not pleased with his brother’s pronouncement.

As the two brothers stood in stoic silence, not meeting each other’s eyes, Sigyn began the task of shackling her husband. She used her seiðr for those at her husband’s feet and the two large chains - one of which was her own - that were tied around his body to keep it secure. Odin had sent along his own shackles for Loki’s wrists in addition to the seiðr fettering ones Sigyn had in her possession. She placed those both on by hand, kissing her husband’s wrist just before sliding the cuffs on them. 

By now, the other Avengers had come into the room to see what was taking so long, concerned that Loki was resisting his bindings. Instead, the found tears starting to gather in Sigyn’s eyes as she finished fettering his wrists. Instead of looking apologetic or remorseful that his wife had to perform such a task, Loki seemed to be looking back at her in a mischievous, almost flirtatious way. Wiping a stray tear from her face, Sigyn then presented the muzzle for his mouth. Leaning up as far as she could, she pressed a deep kiss to her husband’s mouth before pulling back and muzzling him. Sigyn looked as though she was trying not to cry as she secured this final restraint. Loki held his wife’s gaze and though his mouth was hidden, it was obvious to all in the room he was smirking underneath his muzzle. Tony was a hundred percent positive at this point the pair were super into bondage. Loki was definitely enjoying this too much.

Sigyn stepped back from her husband and gestured to him, silently asking Thor if he wanted to double check her handiwork. She didn’t want to be accused of trying to help free her husband, though she doubted very much Loki would try to escape. He almost seemed pleased they were returning to Asgard, a fact that made Sigyn’s stomach churn a little. She hoped that he would at least consider some attempt at redemption. She didn’t care if he was truly apologetic; doing his penance so the two of them could return to the lives and plans they had before would be enough for her. Thor seemed to momentarily consider ensuring Loki was fettered tight, but then changed his mind. Sigyn wondered idly if Thor thought this small gesture would be enough to gain back some of the trust Loki said he had lost. 

“Ready to roll out?” Tony asked into the room, hoping to ease some of the tension. 

Thor gave a nod and the Asgardians began to leave. Sigyn exited the room first, Loki following behind and Thor bringing up the rear. The three of them continued this small, stoic parade out of the building and into the car Tony had waiting for the three of them. They would head to the destination for the launch back to Asgard first. Natasha was driving both Banner and Barton in her SHIELD-issued vehicle, mainly because whatever possessions Banner, Barton and Rogers had left on the helicarrier had been deposited into her trunk when SHIELD dropped the car off at Stark Tower that morning. They had also dropped off Cap’s motorcycle, which he had insisted on driving to the drop site, ready to take his stuff back to his SHIELD-issued apartment as soon as everything was over. Stark opted to take his own car and bet he could beat Natasha to their destination easily. He took Selvig with him as the man was eager to ensure that the device actually worked and to say goodbye to Thor. 

Thor and his group were already waiting when the rest arrived. Natasha had pulled up first with Cap slightly behind her on his motorcycle. New York had changed somewhat since his day, and he thought following someone who seemed to know the route was playing it better safe than sorry. Tony was surprised to be the last one to arrive, though he realized the fact he had been arrogant enough to stop and get a cup of coffee and a bagel was probably why he had lost his bet with Romanoff. He took the silver briefcase containing the means by which the Asgardians would travel home out of his car and over to where the three were standing. Thor had thought it best that someone else bring their means of conveyance, not putting it past Loki to use the contraption to teleport himself and Sigyn to some other world where they could hide. 

Sigyn and Thor actually made farewells to their comrades in arms. Both of them seemed heartfelt in their thanks. The fact that Sigyn seemed to be thanking them for taking her husband into custody and the fact she was so nice about it made more than a few of the Avengers feel slightly guilty. Thor offered smiles all around, though they seemed traced with a fear of what was to come for his brother. Loki, for his part, just glared at everyone. Only Natasha and Clint noticed his eyes slightly soften when they met with Sigyn’s. Even when he was upset with her, it seemed, he couldn’t be too upset with her. Thor looked from Loki to Sigyn and then back again as Tony produced their conveyance home. Even though Thor didn’t need to know how to operate it, Tony and Bruce both gave him a quick run down. It was more to stall the awkwardness of the goodbye than anything else. Thor thanked them as he took the device and then turned to his brother. Loki seemed to look resigned. 

It was time to go home.  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While plenty of higher level SHIELD agents would have considered a routine surveillance mission below their paygrade, Phil Coulson was never one to protest when Director Fury handed him an assignment. Sitting in one of SHIELD’s outfitted black SUVs with a barely legal window tint, Coulson was in the prime position to ensure that Earth’s Asgardian guests returned home like they promised. Though SHIELD had plenty of new technology, Coulson still prefered his binoculars to watch the goings-on in the park. Sometimes, old-fashioned things just got the job done right. Pulling them out of his pocket, Coulson shuffled his Captain America trading cards, grinning at the signature and then putting them back into his suit pocket.

Hearing a car engine, he picked up the binoculars he had left on the dash to see who had arrived. One by one, the members of the Avengers appeared, seemingly out of the woodwork, and gathered around the large medallion carved into the sidewalk. Loki stood between his brother and wife, chains on his arms, legs, wrapped around his body and a metal muzzle across his mouth. Coulson was a bit shocked when the trickster god looked up and straight at him, a slight smirk visible at the edge of his muzzle. This wasn’t a smirk laced with threat, however. It was almost as if Loki thought the two of them shared an inside joke. Coulson thought back to the “blessing” Loki had placed on him for saving Sigyn’s life. 

Suddenly, a few things started to make sense.

SHIELD had tested him to see if the magic from Loki had helped Coulson gain any inhuman powers, but the results came back just like every other SHIELD physical. Some thought that Loki had just done a small magic trick to make it look like he had bestowed something upon Coulson, to throw them all off his scent or as a distraction. However, Phil had felt something deep in his bones when Loki had made the gesture. He just wasn’t sure what. Thinking back, Phil realized there had been more than enough coincidence in the past 48 hours to prove that Loki had done something.

On his drive back to his New York SHIELD apartment after debrief, Phil hadn’t encountered a single red light. Sure, that was weird in a city like New York, but sometimes a guy just got lucky, right? Since his meeting with Loki, Phil realized he had also never had to look for a parking spot. One had materialized for him outside his SHIELD-issued New York apartment, right outside the bakery where he had gotten breakfast that morning and now right outside exactly where the Avengers were launching Thor, Loki and Sigyn back into space. There was no way being able to find this many parking spaces in New York City in such a short amount of time was mere coincidence. However, Asgardians probably didn’t know about the issues with parking and traffic mere mortals faced. If this was the result of whatever Loki had done, perhaps it hadn’t been intentional?

He had initially chocked the vending machine thing up to coincidence as well. He had used a vending machine three times since his encounter with Loki. Once was in the helicarrier break room that afternoon to get a candy bar. Two candy bars had fallen out for his money. Then, he had gotten a soda after his physical. Two bottles had fallen out when he put in his money. Finally, he had gone to get some chips for his stakeout that day and two bags of Doritos had plummeted out, despite the fact he was sure only one bag had been left in the machine. Messing with snack foods seemed like the type of mischief Loki would take credit for. 

Of course, the biggest piece of evidence that Loki had actually given him some kind of blessing made itself evident earlier. That morning, he had gotten a call from Audrey. The Portland Symphony was having to downsize due to budget cuts. She had been heartbroken until the National Philharmonic at the Strathmore had given her a call, asking if she would be interested in a fellowship. Their first chair cellist was leaving because she was pregnant and their second chair had won a once-in-a-lifetime all-expenses-paid round-the-world fishing trip. She would be moving back near SHIELD HQ and was wondering if she could stay at his place until finding one of her own.

Apparently, Loki’s blessing had been one of mild convenience wherever Coulson went.

Coulson arbitrarily thought that maybe Loki could be convinced to use his mischief for good, perhaps to prank unsuspecting terrorists and humiliate them or reunite lovers forced apart by circumstance. He pulled up his binoculars again and watched as Thor guided his brother and sister-in-law to the dial from which they would launch themselves back into space. After saying farewell to his friends, Thor looked at his brother who seemed to roll his eyes. Sigyn wrapped her arms around her husband from behind him, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. Loki and Thor then did something with the Tesseract in the vacuum tube. It shimmered and then the three Asgardians were surrounded in a blue light. They then disappeared as if Scotty had just beamed them back up. 

Slowly, the rest of the Avengers began saying their farewells and driving off. Coulson got ready to depart as well. It was the last any of them would see of the three outer space interlopers.

Well, at least for a good week and a half.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for following along! The sequel will begin posting chapters next Saturday!

**Author's Note:**

> Follow along at http://giltandgreen.tumblr.com/.


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